Knilly Frickers

Dear Wee Rachel,   What are you doing with your life?  It’s a dreaded question for anyone, whether you’re a handsomely paid director of a big ass organisation or a former child star with a fading profile and a catchphrase to your name (you’re neither by the way!). Generally speaking, no one is 100% happy with every aspect of their lives, even the lucky sods who seemingly have everything in their lives figured out – news flash, they don’t!  Some people have a better answer to that question than others, “I’m a director of a big organisation” probably sounds better than “I’m unemployed and focusing on my sitcom reruns” but the good answers probably don’t include the crappy things that keep them awake at night, the pressures of their job or the lack of time they have to do things away from their high stress careers. If you are sitting thinking that your life is a bit crap and you don’t have a scooby how you are going to change it, welcome to the boat, absolutely everyone on t...

Dairy Free Rachie I have noticed for many years that I often sneeze after I eat. I also noticed that I seemed to get a sore stomach and visit the toilet often.  It took me until this year to start trying to figure out what was causing these things so I started a food diary, keeping track of what I ate and how it made me feel.  I soon noticed that everything was pointing towards Dairy/Milk. After trying a few alternatives to milk and feeling better for it, I went to visit my doctor and she confirmed that I have an intolerance to dairy and I've been trying to cut it out of my diet and try alternatives.  I still occasionally have something I shouldn't like donuts/doughnuts - but I soon regret it, although sometimes the after effect is minor. There are advantages, my real weakness when it comes to food is chocolate, specifically milk chocolate. I would often go through a bar or a big treat bag in one sitting, sometimes more than once a day - I've almost cut it out completely ...

I started writing letters to my younger self last summer, shortly after my contract on my job ended and I was looking for something to do to pass the time in between application forms and volunteering. These eventually turned into a bit of self therapy for myself when I was feeling a bit crappy and I thought I would put some of them up on my blog, I've edited a few bits like changing 25 to 26 and circumstances that have changed etc.  I'll play it by ear whether I put any more on, I'm unsure, but here was the first one I wrote myself.  Dear Wee Rachel,    Rachie, Rach or whatever variation of Rachel you are going by at the present moment. It’s me, well it’s you, I’m you, but I’m future you! Don’t be scared, I’m perfectly normal, well, I’m as normal as you are.   There will be times when you wonder and imagine what it will be like to be me - I remember what it was like to be you! I wanted to get in touch, I don’t want to spoil your hopes a...

Who/What I want to be when I'm older. Yesterday, someone asked me what I want to be when I'm older.   My initial response was going to be 'younger' but seeing as it was an eight year old that asked me the question, I figured being a smart arse probably wasn't the best way to answer the question. I didn't actually give much of an answer which I felt a little bit bad about  - I could have answered the question. I know exactly what area I want to be in career wise. I dread people who are younger than me asking me about career stuff, particularly if it has been close to a time when I haven't been successful in an interview or application.  I'd feel awful if I accidentally passed on my own insecurities about my future on to someone else. Most of the time, I'm fairly positive about my job search, I'm looking for employment in a very competitive field and going up against strong competition, so it stands to reason that sometimes,  I'm not going to b...

Yesterday I went for an 'Autumn Walk' with James and by autumn walk I mean I had a wander through the park walking on crunchy leaves and taking pictures! There's something quite therapeutic about autumn, I know it's when things start to wither and die off but it's like bit like a scrubology where nature has a bit of a clean up by clearing out the parts that have gone into disrepair or gathered a few dust bunnies too many in order to make way for all the new things that will replace them in spring. I also like that autumn is when pollen stops being released and I stop sneezing briefly until I catch a cold!  My only regret from yesterday is that while I was walking under some trees there was a big gust that blew lots of leaves off the trees and it looked as if they were dancing in time with each other as they fell to the ground - by the time I got my phone out to take a picture, they had all landed.  It was a magical thing to see though. Another magical moment was wat...

I can come across as a bit weird sometimes - hardly surprising to anyone who has ever met me! Haha! Sometimes I come across as weird because I'm embracing my quirks or being a bit silly but sometimes it's because I have a mini internal panic if someone is standing just a bit too close to me or randomly touches me without prior warning.   I used to think I was just a bit weird, as I kid I never liked holding hands with other kids in the line as we walked from classroom to classroom, I hated hide and seek because I'd often have to hide in a small space or in close proximity to another human,  Even now as an adult, I don't especially like people touching me or standing too close to me, I prefer to initiate hugs unless it is someone I know very well and trust, I feel uncomfortable if I'm boxed into space between two people, I feel uncomfortable if someone is standing so close to me that they really ought to have bought me dinner and a bunch of flowers first.  I've s...

Rachie's Musings on: Dream a Little Dream by Giovanna Fletcher It has come to my attention recently that my mother reads my blog which has paid off because after mentioning in a previous post I'd quite like to read Giovanna Fletcher's new book Dream a Little Dream....she bought it for me......thanks Mum! :-) This is my second Giovanna Fletcher book, the first one I read was Billy and Me and it very quickly became one of my favourite books. I mentioned that I could relate to the main character Sophie in Billy and Me and I found myself also relating to the main character Sarah in Dream a Little Dream.  Sarah is 29 and a bit dissatisfied with life, she's become bored of a job she hoped would be a stepping stone after graduation and aspires to have the career she always dreamed of. I can sort of relate to that.  The world isn't always as shiny and exciting as we hoped it would be after university/college/school. For every graduate who secures their dream j...