Digital Nomad

Morning Pages Changed My Life. They’ll Change Your Life, Too.

October 26, 2018 By Kristen Suzanne

I write Morning Pages every single morning, and they’re changing my life.

I was turned on to Morning Pages, when I first heard about them from Tim Ferriss. I thought if this is something he is really gung-ho about, then he had my attention.

Sadly, I didn’t do much with it at the time.

I was living in the USA when I learned about them. My mom actually had the book, The Artist’s Way (this is the book that teaches you how to do them). I briefly looked at it, but the process didn’t call to me because it seemed it was for “real” artists. I write non-fiction and blog, so I questioned whether that qualified. (Silly me.)

Or, maybe it was the subtitle on the cover: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. I like to consider myself relatively spiritual, as I carry a couple of crystals with me on a regular basis -ha- but I wasn’t into reading spirituality books. (Except for The Tao of Daily Life, one of my favorite books in the whole world – so yeah, I guess I am spiritual in hindsight.)

Plus, Morning Pages seemed like an exercise I didn’t have time for in the morning. So, while I thought they sounded mildly interesting, I figured it was something I wouldn’t pursue at the time. Maybe later.

But, then Morning Pages came on my radar again.

It was time to pay closer attention.

Train Travel vs. Plane Travel in Europe – I Like Trains!

September 29, 2018 By Kristen Suzanne

I love train travel in Europe.

As a digital nomad family, we move around and live in different countries. When we’re deciding whether to fly or take a train, from one country in Europe to another, we lean toward train travel.

I think it’s such a cool way to travel. I love walking on the platform, looking for our coach.

train travel luggage and carry-on — Loaded up: luggage, two backpacks, camera case… no problem

Train travel has a more relaxed atmosphere, overall, experienced by both passengers and employees. There’s not much rushing and security doesn’t seem as intense. You never feel cramped. I’ve yet to hear a baby cry on a train, or be forced to sit with my arm brushing up against a sweaty stranger who’s hacking his lungs out.

But, isn’t train travel longer?

Back in the USA After 6 Months of Travel – My Reflections

September 28, 2018 By Kristen Suzanne

Mom's colorful backyard - or "garden" as they'd call it in Europe — Mom’s colorful backyard – or “garden” as they’d call it in Europe

We are back in Arizona to visit family for six weeks.

I hesitate to say that we are “back home” because I believe that home is wherever my family is. Whether that is in Denmark, Thailand, Mexico, or Arizona, I make my home wherever we land with our belongings and proceed to live our day-to-day life.

Some people said that at the six-month mark of traveling they wanted to go back to the United States from home-sickness, but I personally didn’t feel that. When my brother-in-law unexpectedly asked me, while we were in the United Kingdom, what I missed the most about the USA, I quickly replied, “nothing” (save for family).

However, I did think it was good for my daughter to come home and see her Nana and her grandma. Long-term travel was harder for her than it was for us parents, though she’s adapting and enjoying it more over time. So, we decided to come back to Arizona, earlier than originally anticipated.

Repacking Bags for Optimal Travel

Turned out I started looking forward to coming to AZ because I’ve learned a lot about what I want to have with me while I’m traveling the world. During the past six months I found that there were things I brought that I did not need, and there were things that I wanted and did not have. So I will take advantage of this time here to restock my backpack before we set out on another world travel adventure. (That’s a future blog post.)

The First Thing I Noticed

When we came back to the U.S., the first thing I noticed was the wide roads and large vehicles everywhere. Coming from Europe where the roads are narrow and most of the vehicles are small, it was an interesting (and obvious) thing to compare.

I’m also noticing how accessible everything is and the number of choices are so plentiful here. I don’t know whether this is good or bad, as I don’t really have a feeling or opinion on it. But I know that if I want to get some ground beef, I have about six stores within 2 miles where I can buy it.

That was not the case in Europe. But you know what? We did just fine with one store – never needed so many choices.

Cheap Steak for My Carnivore Diet

I still eat a carnivore diet – still loving it – skin still glows, tummy still flat, PMS still awesome.

So, I will admit that I am very excited to be back in the land of the cheap ribeye (and T-Bone) steaks because I did miss those a bit.

Hello lovely T-Bone Steak - Carnivore Diet — Hello lovely T-Bone Steak – Carnivore Diet

When we landed, I immediately went to mygrocerydeals.com and searched for the best sales on steaks. I was instantly presented with many options, of course. I didn’t waste any time and went right out and stocked up.

But, I Love

Funny thing, I went about a week or so without my favorite ground beef patties, and when I made them yesterday I realized how badly I missed them – lol – humble ground beef. I’ve been eating carnivore but eating different things such as fish and sausages and steaks the past week. The ground beef was a welcome frugal carnivore option.

In Awe When Landing

When our air plane was landing in Phoenix and we were taxiing on the runway, I had this overwhelming sense come over me of how expanded and resilient I realized I had become in six months of travel.

Convict Conditioning: The Easiest Way to Stay Strong & Fit While Traveling – Especially if You Hate Exercising

September 5, 2018 By Kristen Suzanne

Trying to stay fit while traveling in France.

Moving around the world has made the goal of fitness more difficult for me.

When we lived in the United States, it was easier because Greg belonged to a gym and I had some equipment at home. That all changed when we sold it all to move around the world.

I experimented with a few different ways to stay fit.

I downloaded and subscribed to the SWORKIT app.
I walked a lot.
I carved out time here that there to do walking lunges and pushups throughout the day.

But I started having a hard time sticking to it after a bit.

Keeping My Kid Entertained While We Travel the World as a Digital Nomad Family

August 15, 2018 By Kristen Suzanne

Digital nomad kid loving pups while housesitting – iPad not far from her.

As a world traveling family (specifically, a digital nomad family), we don’t have a lot of “stuff” and we’ve been moving around at a fairly speedy clip. I aim for our future (2019) to slow-travel more. I’d like to land in a country and stay for 2 to 3 months before moving. But that doesn’t change the fact that we don’t carry a lot of things.

As you can imagine, this applies to our daughter as well.

We can’t bring bins of Lego blocks or multiple dolls and stuffed animals. She doesn’t have a lot of toys. Close to none pretty much. However, she keeps herself busy.

What in the hell does my young kid do without toys?

She survives. Heck, I like to think she thrives. We do the best we can so that she doesn’t feel like she’s missing out on things.

Here’s what my digital nomad kid does for entertainment as she travels the world. The list applies to things she’s doing where we “live.” (That’s housesitting or renting an apartment via Air BnB.) It does not include the times she meets kids in the local neighborhood or parks or camps she takes. Those things happen regularly, too, but not always on a day-to-day basis. Below is what is daily.

Digital Nomads Housesitting in Cardiff, Wales

August 7, 2018 By Kristen Suzanne

airport - ready for our next digital nomad housesitting adventure — At the airport – ready for our next digital nomad housesitting adventure

We’re moving around the United Kingdom and getting intimate with it. Having spent so many weeks here, in fact about 4 months (in total) this year, we’re really getting to know it.

One of our favorite places to visit was Cardiff, Wales.

Housesitting: the ultimate in the sharing economy model.

We continued our journey of housesitting our way around the world (<– that’s a link to the book we wrote about housesitting). This means we’re living in “free” accommodations in exchange for the caring of someone’s house (and usually animals).

I mentioned in the last post how we met with someone I’d met playing Words with Friends (for years!). That was fun.

For the main part of the Cardiff visit, however, we did a housesit for a lovely family who had a sweet dog to care for.

dog housesitting — Great dog we’re watching while housesitting.

The home was three stories tall and had plenty of space.

That’s one of the benefits of housesitting while traveling. We’re not cramped in a small apartment rental or hotel room. We find ourselves in lovely, spacious homes complete with great wifi, comfy couches, and clean beds.

And fun appliances for making coffee!

Digital Nomad

Morning Pages Changed My Life. They’ll Change Your Life, Too.

I write Morning Pages every single morning, and they’re changing my life.

Sadly, I didn’t do much with it at the time.