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Kristen Helmstetter

(Brisa Starr)

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A Month in Ireland – Our Expat Life

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We are in Ireland for the month of June. We kind of had to. Well, specifically, we had to leave Italy because Greg doesn’t yet have a permesso to stay there. Therefore we have to abide by the Schengen Area rule that basically states you can be in Italy (and much of western Europe) three out of every six months.

Ireland is not included in that Schengen Area so we took a trip there. Unfortunately, I’m not a master at planning trips and seem to find myself booking things making too many assumptions. Things like, oh it will be easy to get to.

Boy was I wrong for the Ireland trip.

When looking for places outside of the Schengen Area I looked at Ireland. Searching AirBnB brought me to a groovy-as-hell, super old schoolhouse for rent. For cheap! (I know why it was cheap now – the remote location.) But the reviews promised a really neat experience.

I never considered the travel to and from. I wrongly assumed that Ireland would be as easily connected by trains as I found the UK.

Well, long story short, our travel day from Italy to Ireland included the following…

1 of 2 bus rides in Ireland.
  • Taxi to the train station in Rovigo
  • Train from Rovigo to Bologna
  • Bus from Bologna train station to the Bologna airport
  • Flight from Italy to Ireland
  • Bus from from Dublin to Wexford.
  • Bus from Wexford to Ballinaboola.
  • Car ride from Ballinaboola to Ballyhack – the super itty bitty fishing village in southeast Ireland.
We made it to the airplane!

Not a cheap travel day, nor very fun. So many timelines to keep straight. What was I thinking? Well, I know… I didn’t realize all that would be involved in getting from Rovigo to Ballyhack. Plus… two huge suitcases, backpacks, purses and my husband who can’t carry the suitcases because of his foot and hip, leaving me to move them up and down the stairs when the elevators aren’t working. At least I got my workout in that day.

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Split Croatia for My Digital Nomad Family

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Bakery in Split, Croatia with my co-pilot.

My digital nomad family is living in Split, Croatia.

After we left Porto, Portugal, we went to housesit for a family in Denmark. It was a repeat housesit as we first housesat for them in March when we launched our world travels. (If you’d like to learn more about housesitting as a great way to travel on a budget, check out my book How to Win At Housesitting.)

Then we traveled to Split, Croatia.

View from Marjan Hill – Split, Croatia

A lot of non-GoT fans might ask, “Why Croatia?”

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I’m Going to Write Fiction (Part 3): Update

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Worldschooling time

My ambition for writing got the better of me.

I suppose that’s kind of cool (tons of ambition), but I had to put the brakes on my writing schedule.

I don’t have the bandwidth to pursue this like I thought.

Something (or someone) suffers.

As most of you know, we’re traveling the world as a family – a digital nomad family. That means we’re homeschooling and worldschooling our daughter, too. The short of it is that when I “work” my daughter doesn’t get a patient mom.

Homeschooling is a lot of effort, and my former process of managing it (versus being a more active participant) doesn’t feel right in my gut.

My intuition is telling me to slow the fuck down.

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I’m Going to Write Fiction (Part 2): Here’s My Writing Schedule

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True to my word last week, I’m deep in my process of writing fiction.

More specifically, I’m following the little plan I set for myself. That means I’m reading two kinds of books, simultaneously, and doing a little writing also. Read more here, where I told all of you about my ambitious plan to write fiction.

I’m reading both novels and “how to write” non-fiction books.

It’s been interesting to read the both side-by-side. As I learn more on the “how to” side, I’m noticing things while reading fiction! Learning the language of how to write helps me see these very aspects in others’ writing. I have many “Oh, I see that thing I just learned about!” or “The author did a great example of ‘showing’ and not telling.” etc.

Your Brain When Writing

In one of the books I mentioned I’d be reading, The Writer’s Process, the author did a great job showing how we use our brains when writing. She also gives advice on how to optimize that. In other words, she details how we have a scribe and a muse in our brain. Plus she teaches the best way to get into flow so you can use both at the same time.

Make a Schedule

The author also talked about the importance of having a schedule for writing – and she backs it up with science along with a clever way of comparing it to baking bread, in which I have excellent experience (learn my process for how to make sourdough bread here!).

She writes, “Schedules give us strength.”

That brings me to today’s update for you.

Inspired, I created a schedule, and I want to share it with you for three reasons.

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I’m Going to Write Fiction

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I’ve decided to try my hand at writing fiction.

Confession: I have no idea what I’m doing.

I never excelled at telling Kamea bedtime stories. That was Greg’s department.  I certainly never considered myself as a fiction writer. The gall! Thinking of myself as a storyteller just didn’t register on my radar. Frankly, I didn’t think I was creative enough.

But… I know better. My father-in-law is Shad Helmstetter (author), and I know to watch my “self-talk.”

Here are my thoughts. I love to read. I love to write. Whether it’s blogging, journaling, emailing, or making a million to-do lists. Plus, making a living with words is attractive. I’m a digital nomad traveling the world with my family, and I’m immersed in many unique experiences. I’m surrounded by new material every time I step out our front door.

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6 Reasons Why I Type My Morning Pages

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The Artist's Way Morning Pages
The Artist’s Way complete set for Morning Pages

6 Reasons Why I Type My Morning Pages

Yesterday, I shared how writing Morning Pages (every morning) changed my life.

I actually look forward to writing them every day. It doesn’t feel like a “to-do” – rather it feels like a luxury. It’s a little bit of “me” time that sets my day up for success. I experience more calm, I get more organized, and a weird sense of relief comes over me after I’ve dumped my mind’s contents into my Morning Pages.

Morning Pages Feel Like Mini-Therapy Sessions

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