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A Wonderful Gift

“Fuerat aestu carentem habentia spectent tonitrua mutastis locavit liberioris.”

– Adam Sendler

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Explore The World

Diremit mundi mare undae nunc mixtam tanto sibi. Nubes unda concordi. Fert his. Recessit mentes praecipites locum caligine sui egens erat. Silvas caeli regna.

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Fuerat aestu carentem habentia spectent tonitrua mutastis locavit liberioris. Sinistra possedit litora ut nabataeaque. Setucant coepyterunt perveniunt animal! Concordi aurea nabataeaque seductaque constaque cepit sublime flexi nullus.

steph.castelein

Live look at me spending 847 hours transferring my

Live look at me spending 847 hours transferring my blog over to WordPress. I've talked about this task for what seems like ages and this is exactly why I kept putting it off, because I knew it would take TIME. Straight up time.The good news is I'm slowly but surely crossing things off the list, emphasis on slowly. Oh and if you're wondering, procrastination doesn't make the job any easier but that's cool. Maybe someday I'll learn. Probably not. Right mom? Don't forget to move your body a bit, take a few deep breaths, and drink some water in between the 10 cups of coffee. Byyyeee🤸‍♀️

We installed a window!!🚐 Yesterday, we woke up

We installed a window!!🚐

Yesterday, we woke up to a blanket of frost covering the ground and windows and with that, anticipation of putting a new window in the van.

It took a whole lot of planning and talking and time but we were able to get it in there.

Don’t be fooled though friends, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows and installing windows and yay, van life!

We got into it pretty good yesterday. At one point we were ready to sell the dang thing. Not for real but you know when you get frustrated and say ridiculous things? Well, it was like that.

Scott and I are so connected, that when we’re not, it escalates big time.

It didn’t help that it was FREEZING, we had 101 different ideas, and oh yeah, the fact that we were cutting a MAJOR HOLE into our van.

After a bit of being crabby and kind of mean, we finally talked it out, regrouped, and had ourselves a fresh start.

And through it all, there are 3 things I continue to learn:

1️⃣ Communication is key. I’ll forever say this. In work, relationships, family, friends, and life. Problems will stay problems until they're talked about openly and honestly.

2️⃣ Food ALWAYS helps. Being hangry is a real thing my friends. Whenever we’re feeling a bit off, we check the last time we are. Let's just say that after we talked it out yesterday, we came up and ate a sandwich.

3️⃣ It gets easier. Every time we tackle a new project, we learn something new. Those skills and thoughts and ways to get there will keep get easier the more we do it, I am sure of this.

These are the lessons I learn from the van build and also from life. I know there will be more. Probably more frustrating days and big breakthroughs too. It's all a part of the journey.

What lessons are you currently learning?

💰💰10 bucks if you guess what is going on in

💰💰10 bucks if you guess what is going on in this picture.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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If you guessed, “Oh, easy! They saw a Buff-breasted Sandpiper for the first time and Scott wanted to remember it.” Then you my friend are cooooorrrrreeeccctttt!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
(seriously though, did anyone guess that?!)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Sometimes we laugh and think we've gone a little crazy for the birds. Speaking of For The Birds, have this phrase in our house that we used often, FTB.... For The Birds. 😅⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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You know, all the crazy things you do when you get into birding. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Like spending an entire weekend at a wastewater treatment plant or getting a rare bird alert and running out the door or lying still in the sand COMPLETELY covered by black flies as little piping plovers come closer and closer and closer. So close you get to put the camera down and just enjoy. Yeah, that's FTB.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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And though I shake my head at FTB sometimes, I also look back on the places it’s taken us and the people we’ve met and the quiet moments in nature we've had and pictures like this and I'm just so grateful for what birding continues to be in our lives.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Like two Buff-breasted Sandpipers pretty excited about the day. That's FTB too.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Happy day!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Steph

The 15 day writing challenge is complete! Woohoo!

The 15 day writing challenge is complete!

Woohoo!

15 emails.
15 writing prompts.
15 writing tips.

All sent out each morning by 6:00 am.

I created this as a alternative to National Novel Writing Month aka #nanowrimo and had so much fun putting this together, both from a writing perspective but also from a creating perspective.

Having to come up with ideas and write an email for every day isn’t hard, but it isn’t always easy.

It forced me to write, to engage, and to think about ideas that have helped me and most importantly will help others.

It forced me out of more comfort zone and got me writing more and more consistently than ever before.

As always, I’m blown away by the response and enthusiasm from this community. From you.

The emails I received from those who participated were so encouraging, so thoughtful, and made me want to keep showing up day after day!

Thanks for being a part of this journey my friend.

Whether you were in the challenge or not, your enthusiasm means the world.

I couldn't do this without you and for that I'm forever amazed and grateful.

Happy Friday.
Happy day.
Happy writing.

Steph

Oh! Also, I am OBSESSED with these boots and I've gotten a few questions about them. They're Women's Fields Waterproof Boots from @chacofootwear. I've had them for a year, do a million and one activities in them, and absolutely LOVE them. Scott says they're good looking ANNNNDDD fun. I agree and highly recommend!

We bought a house! A tiny home on wheels but come

We bought a house! A tiny home on wheels but come on now, would you really expect anything else from us?🚐🤸‍♀️

Also, we’re moving to Mackinac Island!

Whew!

Ok, there’s a whole lot going on there so let me explain.

Last year, we started spending more time on the island thanks to Scott's work. We fell in love with the history and the sounds and the places beyond downtown. Honestly, we fell in love with downtown too! Yes, it's a bit crazy but it keeps you on your toes 😉

Fast forward to this year, we got an opportunity to work and live on the island year round but also the flexibility to work remotely in the winter months. Hence the van!

We. Can. Not. Wait!

We’ve been trying to figure out a way to hit the road and work remotely for awhile and when this opportunity came up, it was the perfect fit for the change we’ve been talking about...well that and the fact that we LOVE the island!

We're not quite sure what everything looks like but we're excited to share more with you.

We’ve mentioned some of the changes already and the encouraging messages and well wishes have been overwhelming.

Thanks for your support and love and virtual high fives. We are grateful and open and excited to watch it unfold.

We’ll miss our little cabin on the lake life and will forever hold that chapter fondly in our hearts.

So, how in the world will we move to the island?
How are we going to convert our van in the cold?
How will we travel with Covid?

All great questions that we’re still figuring out ourselves. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Life's a journey isn't it?

Fun times ahead!
Go team.

Life's got me thinking again.... How do you live

Life's got me thinking again....

How do you live your life and simultaneously write about it?

I mean social media is this constant blessing and curse, right?

A place to connect and inspire.
Also a place to consume and feel less than.

I know that I’ll never be on my death bed hoping that I posted “just one more photo” or “one more story” or “one more blog post”.

And yet, I feel this calling to share a bit of my life.

Is it selfish? Vain? Unnecessary?

Perhaps.

Is it a unique way to engage with others? Inspire readers? Cheer people on?

Absolutely.

I suppose every which angle has it's pros and cons, like many things in life.

But then I see memories from 1 year ago or 2 years ago and I'm so grateful I captured that time in our life. That I shared my thoughts and feelings and photos and things I was learning.

It's like a little bit of life and all of its moments gets to live beyond my memory.

So maybe it will forever be this in between.

Wanting to share more, create more, do more. And simultaneously not wanting any of that.

There’s a balance there I’m sure.

It just feels like I'm always trying to figure out which one I want for life and it always comes back to why not both. But, can you really have them both?

I don't know if there is a point to this other than Mondays always have me planning big things for the week and that usually means thinking big things about life.

Whew!

Ok, happy Monday friends.
If you've made it this far, you are a champ. Also, what do you think?

Byyyeeee,
Steph

The bluest of blue waters. Or maybe the tealest of

The bluest of blue waters. Or maybe the tealest of teals?

Either way, seeing this beautiful body of water is shocking and peaceful and makes me smile every single time.

Every single.

No really.

How many things that you’re familiar with do that? Over time they’re just….there.

It feels like you constantly have to remember how great something is when it becomes so familiar but for some reason the shores of Lake Michigan never get old.

Perhaps it's because they're always changing. Some days, roaring with massive waves. Others, calm and quiet.

New stones revealed with each lapping wave and the sand dunes, always familiar but constantly forming in new ways.

Maybe, most of all, it's the vastness. The endless blue-teal for as far as the eye can see and beyond. To know and to see something that great, that endless, that unknown makes your mind wander to new places. Much like the water itself, flowing upon shores an entire state away.

Yes, that might be it.

All I know is that everytime we stop for a moment to see it, no matter what kind of mood I'm in or stress from the day my mood shifts and I'm suddenly present. Transformed by the water.

Every. Single. Time.✨

LATEST FROM THE BLOG

Steph and Scott Castelein and a photo from their wedding day.

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Easy DIY Wood Reindeer Decoration

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It keeps snowing. On and off and on again. Usually the thick, heavy stuff that sticks to everything but doesn’t last long. Last night we

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This is one of my favorite videos. Please take a few minutes to watch it and then let’s chat. HOW GREAT WAS THAT!? Routine is

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