Adventure | The Dame

Now that the weather has finally turned and spring has sprung, I’ve been able to take my new bike out on adventures or go for long walks with my mom. We live on the edge of the countryside so just a ten minute walk and we are greeted with crop fields and country piles.

Down a footpath that seemed to go right through someone’s property, we found that they were selling their hen’s eggs. After being hissed and squawked at by the best guard dogs in the world, geese, we collected our eggs and left behind a £1 in the jar.

When we got home I made a delicious frittata.

Everyone’s gardens have come to life and it’s so beautiful.

It’s so beautiful to be able to go out into fields and have the noise of people reduced. The only sounds I could hear were birds and the occasional plane and sometimes a tractor.

I think I may have started a new hobby, taking pictures of my beautiful bike in the beautiful settings we discover.

I love that I have to lift my heavy bike over turnstiles, not only am I getting a workout in my legs and ass but also my arms!

And once over that turnstile, I found myself in this field sporting this pretty pond with a dead tree fallen over into it. It was the perfect place to sit on that tree and take it all in. I decided this would be my meditation spot so crossed my legs and breathed deeply.

I’m not very good at emptying my mind as meditation expects, so instead I simply think about all the things I am grateful for and that completely lifts my mood.

I’m so grateful for public footpaths. I also had to lift my bike over two turnstiles!

The little lambs were real inquisitive of me until their mammas came over and told them to scram.

I took this picture ofter bombing down a tree covered pathway with both feet up on the middle of the bike like I was a little kid again.

All the photos are taken with my iPhone so apologies for the quality. I just love these beautiful country houses and wish it was me living in them.

I love to cook and I especially enjoy cooking vegetarian food. Above are all the ingredients for a great dhal I found on Vegan Sparkles, another student of the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. I only cook with coconut oil and I’ve found one that tastes so good, I often eat it out of the container. It’s great to put on your skin as a moisturiser (super model Valentina does!) and to use for oil pulling. The brand I use above is from Pink Sun and I buy it from Amazon.

I’ve been starting my day with Jason Vale’s Swamp Juice smoothies with added spirulina and wheat grass. So yum! And keeps me feeling full for ages, which is new, since I am usually hungry every half hour!

My student materials arrived from Institute of Integrative Nutrition through which I am training to become a certified Holistic Health Coach

On recommendation from Rosie, I got these fabulous sparkly ballet pumps from Zara in time for summer.

Marly would rather curl up and snore. #dealwithit

What do you love to do in springtime? What are your favourite adventures when the weather is fine? Do you make an effort to get outside every day?

There are so many company’s online who charge an absolute fortune, not including flights, to volunteer across the world and so few people who know that you can volunteer for free.

volunteer in australia for free

You don’t have to do that. There are also companies like WWOOF and Workaway that list hosts around the world looking for volunteers for a small annual fee and that’s all you pay.

I have used both WWOOF and Workaway, the former to volunteer on an organic vineyard in southern Western Australia and the latter to volunteer at the guest farm I spent three months at last year in South Africa.

I am using Workaway again to volunteer at three different places in Western Australia this year.

volunteer for free

If you’re just coming out of high school, I highly recommend going to volunteer. You will learn so much about yourself and the world and grow in a positive way. You will learn new skills and may even discover your passion or realise that what you thought you wanted isn’t in the end.

If you’re at a cross roads in your life and you don’t know what to do with yourself except that you need to break out of your current funk, go volunteering! I’ve now volunteered in Thailand, Western Australia and South Africa.

volunteer in south africa

If you are spending an extended period of time in a new country, volunteer, you get to learn the language and the culture much better than just wondering around like a tourist. You learn the best places to eat and shop and because you’ve learned their every day language, you are better respected when you go to restaurants and shops. All countries love it when you make an effort to understand and integrate their culture.

If you want a new career, volunteer. You get hands on learning for free and may even pick up a job while you at it, or at least develop a useful network of contacts in your future career. It also looks good on your CV or student application.

volunteer on a farm for free