Today I’m sharing three things I did to celebrate my birthday. My birthday was on Saturday and I had such a lovely weekend of celebrations. I thought I'd share what I got up to!
Saturday morning run.
I woke up nice and early - about 5.30 or 6am. This isn't a punishment for me as I like rising early. I made my usual breakfast porridge (blueberries, vanilla protein powder, goji berries, ground nuts and seeds, pumpkin seeds and porridge topped with plenty of cinnamon) and as a little birthday treat I put some sprinkles on top. It was my birthday breakfast after all. I then set out to my local Parkrun to meet up with a friend and get a PB on my birthday - shaving a whole 15 seconds of each mile time from my last PB. I guess my birthday playlist I made helped a bit there (or was it the sprinkles?) I nipped off to visit my favourite local coffee shop to get a coffee, bagel and cinnamon bun while catching up with my pal post run. Then I headed home for a birthday bath (this meant TWO bath bombs instead of just one).
Adventure with the Adventure Queens.
I was thrilled when I found out there was an Adventure Queens campout organised on the day of my birthday. I knew I had to go. I was a little nervous about sleeping in my bivvy bag in winter but I had to try it. I headed off to the North Downs all packed up for a night under the stars. I arrived and was greeted with big hugs and smiles from both Anna McNuff and Emma Frampton. I met so many lovely people and shared some wonderful stories. I even got a little birthday cupcake with a candle! Myself and fellow bivvy-er, Gemma Smith, found a lovely spot to set up camp so we would have a nice view in the morning. There were campfire stories, lots of chat about bits of kit, hot chocolate and marshmallows. At the end of it all, crawling into my bivvy under a cloudy sky I could just see the moon peeking through the fast moving clouds over top. I drifted off to sleep and woke to a very bright, clear moon on my face - the sky had cleared enough for me to do some midnight star gazing. I didn't last long before I fell back to sleep for one of my cosiest outdoor sleeps I've had yet. The next morning we had breakfast and set off for a little walk on the North Downs before heading off back home.
Roast dinners and sleeping bags.
I decided this year that rather than get the family to all go out somewhere on a busy weekend for my birthday I wanted to have a roast dinner at home with all my favourite trimmings. Not to mention birthday cake. I thought this would be a perfect ending to a little adventure. Plus I got to spend time with my little niece - who I managed to get completely obsessed with my sleeping bag. This is great news as I'm just waiting until she's old enough so I can take her camping. I figured I'd get her playing with my sleeping bag I'd brought back from the trip. She's almost 2 so I may as well get her used to the gear she'll be using when we go on our adventures together.
I had such a lovely weekend and I'm going to continue the celebrations still with a meal out with friends. How exciting! How do you celebrate your winter birthday? What plans have you got to bring in the new year of your life?