Friday Firsts: Here We Clubbing Go

*Clubbercise is not suitable for those with photosensitive epilepsy *

When I was a kid I used to love dancing, around the house, in the garden, in the playground, anywhere really.

I took classes in Disco, Tap, Ballet and Modern, I have a few certificates under my bed from my dance exams and even have a few medals, although I pretty sure they were for participating! 

When biology took over my body in my early teens I sort of gave up dancing, with the exception of the occasional shimmy  at a friend's birthday, a night out or a wedding....or in my car. 

It's probably been about 14 years since I've been anywhere near a dance class, so naturally when my sister in law suggested I join her at clubbercise I was a little reluctant but after she'd been and told me how fun it was I decided to give it a go. 

If you've never been to or heard of clubbercise it's easy to follow dance moves to 90s club classics with glow sticks and disco lights! 

At first I felt really out of place, like a giraffe in a boardroom meeting out of place, but I quickly realised that loads of other people probably felt the same way. Once the lights went out and the music got going, I forgot all about how out of place I felt and just got into the spirit of the class.

What I really enjoyed about it was that it really suits everyone, you could be brilliant or you could be completely lacking in rhythm and it doesn't matter in the slightest, you can still take part and enjoy it. 

Everyone cheers each other on and there is lots of 'Here we clubbing go' 

You can take it at your own pace, grab your water when you need it and get back in the groove when you've got your breath back.

Tonight pushed me out of my comfort zone in a few ways

•    My sister in law couldn't make it and I nearly chickened out of going but I knew that I would be mad at myself and there would be a few other people I knew when I got there so I shut out the voice of doubt in my head and went along anyway. 
• As I mentioned above, I haven't been near anything resembling a dance class in years and I thought I would really struggle but I actually managed to attempt most of it, dialling down the effort a little when I was feeling a struggle coming on. 

As someone who really doesn't love exercise, I came away having really enjoyed it and would totally go again. 

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Friday Firsts: Introductions and Avocados.

I’m a big fan of alliteration, you may have gathered this about me already if you’ve read some of my other blog posts.

So I decided that on Friday’s I’m going to start posting about activities or things I’m experiencing for the first time - Friday Firsts I think I shall call it.

Anytime I try or go somewhere new I can channel it into something creative to share with others.

I’d like to be optimistic and say I’ll do one every week but I’ll play it by ear! 

This weeks Friday First involves cooking - I know, shock horror.  It also involves avocados. Just because avocados! 

I'm becoming a bit obsessed with avocados, I have socks, a lunch box, earrings.....I digress.  

Behold - avocado potato salad! 

I can’t take credit for the recipe, I found it on Pinterest and comes from a site called Beckys Best Bites. I'd strongly recommend having a look, there are some great recipes on there.

Ingredients:I didn't stick rigidly to the recipe as I had no Dill or Cilantro but the premise is simple, 2lbs of potatoes, 1 avocado, 1 lime (juice and zest) and seasoning of your choice.

Method:Boil your potatoes then freeze them for 30 minutes, mix together the avocado, lime and seasoning and when your potatoes have cooled down sufficiently mix them together! 

It serves six so it would be a great side dish at a meal or a light bite lunch!

I've mentioned on my blog before that I have a dairy intolerance and its annoying when food in shops that look like it should be totally friendly for me actually have milk somewhere in the ingredients list.

When I spotted this recipe, I was so excited that it was something I could eat and prepare with minimal effort - as lets face it, my skills in the kitchen leave a lot to be desired!
I may document some of my kitchen disasters on here as I attempt to navigate the seemingly grown up skill of feeding myself.
Highlights include evaporated soup and exploding porridge.  

I've previously spoken about wanting to push myself outside of my comfort zone and trying new foods although it doesn't seem like much can be a big thing for me. 

Next Weeks First  - Clubersise! 

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A (Sort Of) Introduction.

I did say in my last blog post that there would be no 

'New Year, New Me' but I have given my blog a new name so I didn't really stick to that...

You'll have gathered if you've read my blog that I like to embrace the quirky things in life, the musings and content will still come from the mind of Rachie, my name just won't be in big letters at the top. 

I mentioned in my last post I'd like to use my blog to embrace all things quirky in my life whether that's sharing my musings, talking about my adventures or sharing things I've found.
I've never really had a theme for any of my personal blogs before and I'm not certain that quirky is really a theme, but it will be the thread that stitches everything together... I hope. 

It's a Rachie Thing was an outlet that helped me to process my thoughts, continue to develop content when I had no other outlet for my creativity and develop my own voice.
I've brought over all of my existing content, even the posts I think are a bit rubbish because they are part of me.

Now that the reintroduction is out of the way, I'll make sure the next thing I post is far more interesting. 

Today's Shoes

Technically, this is not a picture of shoes.
It's my flamingo slippers from Asos!
I also took this picture two days ago but I'm wearing them again at the moment so it totally counts!
Life is far too short to not own fluffy flamingo slippers, right?

Also

Thank you to Aloha Lola Cards for designing my header image, she took a thought in my head and turned it into a reality.

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New Year Musings: Goodbye 2017, Hello 2018.

It's the last day of 2017 and as I often do at this time of year I'm feeling inquisitive about what the coming year will bring. 

In the past I've spent the entirety of this day thinking about all my flaws and imperfections, what I'd like to change and how I'd fit those into New Years resolutions. 

In the last few years, whether it's come with age or circumstance, I've learned that I'm really not about New Years resolutions. 

  I even posted a blog about it in January which you can read here. 

I do have some challenges I'd like to take on and some achievements I'd like to unlock across the next year but I'm not going to make them a must do, more of an I'd like to do. 

There will be no need for me to feel like crap come the 5th of January when I haven't achieved the first 10 on a list of 15. 

I'd like to change my blog a little, not much, but a little. When I first started my blog, it was really self therapy with the occasional review and over the last year it's been a smattering of my thoughts. I'd like to use it to embrace all things quirky in my life whether that's sharing my musings, sharing my experiences or sharing things I've found.

I'd like to write more, not just in my working day but in my leisure time, I used to write poetry, short stories, self reflections, letters to myself and others. I've sort of fallen out of the habit and I'd like to embrace that again. 

I'd like to work on saying no to things I don't want to do or feel uncomfortable doing. I don't like saying to no people, it makes me feel bad. Sometimes I'll say yes and it won't do me any harm but other times it can put me in a situation I don't want to be in or cause me to miss out on something else.  It can also hold me back from doing things I should be doing.  

I need to lose that thing in my head that says saying no is a bad thing. It's okay to say yes but not when it has an impact on my own welfare, time sensitive commitments or headspace. 

There are plenty of other ideas I have for how I'd like this year to take shape but if those don't come to fruition, that's completely okay.  I've learned this week that I can't place too much of my happiness and contentment in what I've planned for, I also have to embrace what the day brings. 

I know where I'd like to be 365 days from now and I've started taking steps to get there but if I have to deviate from that path, I'll be fine. 

No New Year, New Me promises, just a more positive mindset.

See you in 2018. 

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Lunchtime Ramblings: Risk it for a biscuit.

Today’s musings came to me while I was eating my lunch. Alongside my lunch I had five Jaffa Cakes (other biscuits are available).  When a colleague asked my how I eat them (full moon, half moon, total eclipse)  it occurred to me I don’t know! 

I decided to make it my lunch time mission to eat each on in a different way. 

It set me off thinking about a thing that I hear people say quite often about how you can’t do the same thing and expect different results.  In a lot of aspects of my life I do tend to favour the same approach and hope that something happens and get sad when it doesn’t.

That’s partly my own fault, I’m indecisive and I like to err on the side of caution and remain in my comfort zone. Sometimes that’s a good thing, it keeps me safe and it keeps me happy, but other times it holds me back because I’ve not taken a risk.

As you’ll have gathered, I don’t thrive on risks, not big ones anyway. 

I’m trying to get better at that, identify ways to step outside of my comfort zone - not on a skydive or bungee jump level but there are definitely ways I can push myself to be braver, be bolder, be more daring.

If I think it’s within reach and within reason I’ll risk it for a biscuit - preferably one with no dairy in it. :-) 

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Lunchtime Ramblings: Musings of a December Monday

It’s seven days til Christmas! I’m not sure where this year has gone! Well, I grasp the passage of time but I do feel like it’s zoomed past! 

There are also two weeks left of this year, I’m not really into this new year new me nonsense, but it is my opportunity to think about how I want the year ahead to take shape.

Normally at this time of year I make a list of all the things I dislike about myself and try to channel them into ways I’m going to change.  I’m not really into that anymore. 

I’ll always want to be the best version of myself but that doesn’t mean I have to change everything about who I am.

That’s not me saying I’m awesome, flawless and require no self improvement, but I don’t need to become someone else to achieve it.

Right, that’s my mind cleansed of thoughts for Monday lunch time, I’m going to try and get back in the habit of getting my musings out of my head and onto paper more often. 

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Blogmas Musings: Hello December.

It’s officially the first of December, at time of writing in Scotland anyway. It’s already the second in some parts of the world and by the time you read this December could have been and gone. 

I’m side tracking, December is here. I’m turning into one of those people who comments on how quickly the year has gone in - like elderly ladies at bus stops, I’m not sure if that’s a universal thing or a Scottish thing where we pass the time of day with fellow soon to be bus passengers by commenting on the speed at which time accelerate and how the weather of this particular season is vastly inferior to the years prior - back to my point, this year really has gone quickly.

I really do feel like not that long ago 2017 was a fresh new year and I was ready to tackle it with gusto and determination.

There is now a matter of days left of the year before the next begins and I’m wondering where it has gone.  

Usually around this time of year I start to panic when people talk about being organised for Christmas and all the fun things they have planned.  I usually turn into a big ball of stress because time runs away from me and I have to rush about to get everything I feel like I need to have done achieved.

This year I’ve decided I’m not doing that. Or rather I’m going to try not to do that. I know my Decembers are busy, I play in a brass band and I know that a significant portion of my time will be dedicated to playing music, I have a full time job and know that an even more significant portion of my time will be taken up with my working day. 

I spend most of my day on the internet and can take what advantage I can of the ability or order online or click and collect at my leisure. 

The people I love will be grateful for any presents I buy them whether I purchased them on the 7th of July or the 23rd of December.  

This year, I’m going to enjoy the month of December, regardless of how busy I end up being, how grumpy the humans I encounter are, how grumpy I get or how I fed up I am of hearing the same sounds.

There aren’t many days left of 2017 and I attend to embrace the adventure I find in each one. 

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