Knilly Frickers

Cards on the table....I've been a bit of a misery guts for the past few weeks.   I feel like for most of January, my personality has been somewhat switched off. I'm not really sure why.  I don't know if the job hunt is getting me down, if I'm spending too much time indoors and on the computer.  It might be the lack of chocolate in my diet, it could be the countless hours of reality TV my eyes have witnessed over the month of January - but what I am sure of is that I need to snap out of it. For someone who talks a lot about being positive and looking for the sunshine, I haven't done a whole lot of it lately.   It's possible that's down to the fact its currently winter in Scotland and the sun is currently shielded by an abundance of rain filled clouds - that doesn't actually sound too dissimilar to the description of summer in Scotland, but at least it's usually a little brighter! January is gone, well at time of typing its the 30th so there is still a...

Dear Wee Rachel,  Sleep is a beautiful thing! You don’t realise it right now, but you have this amazing ability to sleep at night, to just switch off your brain, lie down and sleep.   Sometimes your head might be full of crap that finds its way into your dreams but the actual sleeping part you have down to a tee.  In a few years, sleep will seem like a story, a fairy-tale like Cinderella or Snow White (I thought Sleeping Beauty would be a cruel example, but hey, at least that bitch got some sleep!). I don’t know why sleeping became a problem, it might be the fizzy juice that you drink (I know you love Irn Bru, but your insides are probably orange by now, cut down a bit!) it could be all the time you spend in front of the computer, the TV or your phone (FYI, phones are cooler in the future, but bloody expensive!).   Whatever it was, it became an issue and it’s one you’ll fight for a while, I’m still fighting it now. I’m writing you this letter because I’m struggling t...

I've seen a few people on Youtube do lifestyle/product 'empties' videos where they show the empty packaging and talk about the product they bought and whether they enjoyed it, the pros/cons etc I'm fairly new to the whole 'dairy free' thing but thought I would give it a try for some dairy free products I've been using since cutting out dairy and getting a firm answer on the whole 'milk makes me ill' thing.  I live in the Scotland, so I'm not sure what the availability of everything I've mentioned is like further afield than the UK.  If you know of any brands or products I haven't mentioned - feel free to suggest in the comments!  It might work as an interesting blog post or it might be crap but I figured I'd go with it! Rather than focus on every dairy free product I've tried I thought I'd focus on the main things I've really been missing!   I might do some more posts focusing on specific things but the first thing I'm...

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...