2016 Year in Review (Plus Writing + Coaching Brags)

Happy new year! I'm still allowing myself to say that even though there is only one day left in January of 2017.

In 2016 I continued my hiatus from blogging except for micro entries on my Instagram account. It doesn't feel as important to share, connect, and analyze my experiences when living in the US compared to living overseas. My life experience here seems to have a lot more in common with that of family and friends, many of whom also live in the U.S. or have spent a great deal of time in this country. Also, blogging just for fun (as a hobby) has fallen down my priorities list since becoming a parent in late 2014. If life were to take us abroad again, I'm not sure I could maintain the blogging schedules I used to keep pre-baby.

Still, I wouldn't want to skip my year-in-review tradition since I've done it now for the years 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. This will be a very edited overview.  Here's a bullet list so you can scroll down to the parts that interest you most:

• 2016: A few memories and events by month (with photos)

• 2016: My writing and coaching brags

• 2017 Plans and possibilities

Memories by month

I have selected just a few highlights to mention for each month.

January

We enjoyed selecting a Hollywood apartment; we contacted our old landlord and were able to move back into the same charming complex where we met in 2010. My mom was so supportive and flew from NC to help us with the move.  

Prince Charming took a work trip to Indonesia.

It was great to reconnect with our California friends this month.

February

Making new mommy friends and joining a "mommy and me" belly dance class with Bump.

March

A tough month. I locked Bump in the car. Everything turned out okay as roadside assistance came to our aid. Thankfully it wasn't a hot day.

Also, we made the difficult decision to find a new home for Jelly Bean. We couldn't take care of her in the way she really needed to be cared for.

We said goodbye and found a great organization that flies Canaan dogs and Canaan dog mixes to places better suited to their need for lots of space. She was quickly adopted by a new family and now lives in Washington State.

April

We took a fun family trip to San Francisco where we visited the SF zoo for one of the most vibrant zoo days i've ever had. The tigers were pacing, the lions were roaring, and the monkeys were swinging. It was really fun and cold.

We got to see my cousin Charlie who has started a successful craft-beer distributing company. 

We caught up with Uncle Jeff and took a special picture. I noticed when visiting my Grammy that her baby pictures of her son Jeff (my uncle) look a lot like Bump. So I theorize that when Bump grows up he will look a lot like his handsome great Uncle Jeff:

May

I started learning more about my family's bicycle company, Cruzbike, and doing lifestyle consulting for their customers. I call and email people interested in the bikes and help connect them to test rides and decide which bike is right for their lifestyle. I'll post a photo later in this blog post of me riding a Cruzbike, the world's fastest and healthiest bikes. 

This month I also got to see the Los Angeles premiere of a film made by one of my classmates and friends from the 2007 Act One screenwriting program -- the first class I did when I moved to LA and the community that helped me feel supported during my transition to living in LA after college. His movie was hilarious and I hope it will lead to more film making opportunities for him. It was great have an Act One mini-reunion and catch up with some old friends I hadn't seen in years.

June

See all the bridges in the photo below? Yes, that's a sign we're in Portland, Oregon, where my friend Liz lives. It was wonderful to meet her new baby (#2) and chase our toddlers around.

July

July brought a family reunion in Vermont and lots of Cruzbike fun.

I also celebrated my birthday with neighbors and friends. My belly dance teacher and dear friend Katya danced with me in my dining room:

August

Bump had been obsessed with his space shuttle replica toy, so in August we took him to see the real thing, the shuttle Endeavor at the Califoria Science Center. 

My mom came out west again to watch Bump so Charming and I could take a vacation in Hawaii:

September

Kimberly was traveling through LAX and it worked out that we got to meet during her layover and eat brunch near the airport and then take a picture by the Pacific:

We took a few days as a family to go to Desert Hot Springs ("hot is our middle name" is the town motto).  We enjoyed stargazing and hanging out by the pool. We drove by the smelly but beautiful Salton Sea at sunset:

October

I traveled to Cincinnati for the recumbent bicycle convention. 

I'm proud to work with my wonderful family and sell the world's fastest, safest, healthiest bicycles to a growing tribe of eccentric and sexy athletes -- is there a better kind? -- many of whom have come back from overwhelming physical injuries to ride much faster than most cyclists ever will. 

I also started a new creative project this month. I think we need more images of breastfeeding to normalize it in our society so I'm creating a breastfeeding awareness calendar. I'm looking for 10 more volunteer mommy-child teams to be part of this project. Let me know if you want in. 

November

Birthday month for Bump. I celebrated two years of this life with my sweet genius 2-year old. Sometimes I whisper in his ear before I put him down to sleep,"thank you for being here." I just can't believe how wonderful he his and some part of me believes that he got to pick me, to choose us, to select this particular adventure and that he still remembers that brochure and making these trip arrangements.

Oh yeah. November was the election too. I don't keep my political views a secret. I'm disappointed by the results and feeling anxious about what direction things are going in here in the U.S.

December

Three dear friends came to visit me in LA and we celebrated Julie (below left) on her birthday with gourmet tacos and palm trees and the beach.

We went to visit family in North Carolina -- a nice long trip -- over the holidays. My family has been wonderful supportive during the adjustment to parenthood. 

We relaxed, ate, relaxed some more, and I got pranked a little when my dad and brother showed me a mockumentary about dragons that I thought was true.

After Christmas it was birthday celebration time again.

I baked a cake for Prince Charming's late December birthday.  I relish celebrating my brilliant poetry major husbands birthday (which is sort of torture to him). Today I am especially grateful for (and apt to brag about) his location-independent work building nonprofit programs to help refugees. Did you know he played a key role in saving a program in Los Angeles to help persecuted members of religious minority groups immigrate to safety in the USA? He has saved so many lives. He just keeps going in his low-key way. No big deal.  My hero.

___

My writing and coaching brags

I had a lot of fun with my writing and coaching in 2016. I collaborated on a great screenplay project. I got paid to create an original superhero with a backstory for a comic book universe. I helped train a team of storytellers who used their skills and talents to raise over $48,000 for brain cancer research as they documented the 2016 Race Across America. 

I still enjoy making passive and semi-passive income from my Simple Living Toolkit books and courses, and the Minimalist Living community has grown every year.

"I would NEVER have been able to do in many weeks what Genevieve accomplished practically overnight."

I really enjoyed continuing to coach and encourage writers and artists throughout 2016, and at the end of the year, I got to see the fruit of some of that time spent when one of my author contacts published her updated book manuscript with my support. She kindly wrote:

"When people talk about having the right person come in to your life at the right time, Genevieve was true to her word and took me by the hand and made my book happen! I would NEVER have been able to do in many weeks what Genevieve accomplished practically overnight. The book is available on Amazon.com, is being downloaded almost daily, and I've regained confidence to get the next project going."

Scroll down for more on the topic of coaching and publishing.

2017 plans and possibilities

 I'll wrap up with website updates and general thoughts for what 2017 may bring for us as a family and for my writing and coaching.

Website and blog updates coming in 2017

As you can see, you are reading this blog at a new URL. I am moving my blog content from my old site (Packing Lust) over to this site since I'm changing the hosting platform and am ready for a web home renovation. Hopefully it will go well and you'll see my archive happily hosted on this site soon.  

I experiment with different web site products because I always want to simplify my web maintenance and I like to keep things feeling fresh around here. I'm experimenting this year with using Squarespace as my new hosting provider and site builder. I'm hoping this will streamline my website maintenance. I got frustrated with WordPress since it seemed like I was constantly needing to be updating plugins or fixing something buggy.

In 2017 I'll be posting here about writing, publishing and coaching, as well as posting the occasional travel, family, or life update.

Some 2017 predictions and possibilities

I've grown wary of making yearly goals or resolutions publicly because either a) I get disappointed when they don't happen, or b) something totally unexpected happens and I want to embrace the new adventure that has arrived.  I've learned to deeply savor the present moments and meanings as they come.

Our family has faced a lot of uncertainty over the past two years. I predict we will soon be entering another nomadic phase so the future is delightfully uncertain. Well, I guess I'd like some certainty at some point. Certainty could be delightful. As ever, we'll see. Right now I'm really enjoying the adventure of looking into the unknown. Someone recently asked me, "But don't you want to have a community, roots, support, something settled?" And the answer is yes, I do, but I also have the bug -- the travel/nomad bug. And it hasn't gone away yet. So I try to find some kind of balance between growing roots and exploring new places. I'm grateful there is technology that allows me to access my support system and keep up with friends all over the world.

I hope that whatever this year brings, I  keep writing. In 2016 I wrote 128,187 words in my journal. While I didn't publish any books, I'm grateful for journaling. So far the first month of 2017 has gone well with my writing. I have intended to publish two books a year for the past several years and failed on that, but I keep writing and publishing in some form over the years whether it's on Amazon, my blog, Facebook or Instagram. 

This could be a breakthrough year for my writing and publishing and that of others in my writing community. Perhaps this year I will publish one book. Maybe two. I feel that in 2017 it's important for me to defeat what Steven Pressfield called "Resistance," which for me is mostly comprised of the fear that what I write won't help anyone. I want to remember that if my writing helps, uplifts, or connects to anyone -- even just one person -- it is worth the time, effort, and risk of putting my words out there. I am so grateful for the support of my family, friends, and all the writers and creatives who support and encourage me as a writer and storyteller.  We are all connected and we are here for each other.

I find more and more meaning in giving back by supporting and coaching creatives, which leads me to...

My work with writers and creatives

I'll be doing more writer- and creative-coaching with a special focus on self-publishing in 2017 so check back here soon as I'll get new coaching information and payment pages active just as soon as I can. 

Best wishes for a creative and powerful 2017!

Bump is 9 Months Old Today

On the eve of his 9-month-iversary, we went to this odd little manicured, AstroTurfed mini-park; it's part of a sky walk in Arlington:

I snapped a bunch of photos. These are my favorites.

Baby in the City: Our New Life in Arlington, Virginia

We moved to Arlington, Virginia on July 15th. This could be temporary, a three month visit to the D.C. area, or we could stay longer. We are here because Prince Charming is doing some consulting for a nonprofit in this area, and of course, because we have wanderlust.

Exploring a new city with a baby (now 8 months old) is a whole new world, a world troubled by fear of poop seeping out of a diaper and onto the varnished oak table of a trendy brunch restaurant. And other concerns, like is it okay if my son licks the glass window of the metro train, and is it better to deal with the sweat and back strain involved in baby wearing or the hassle of maneuvering a stroller into and out of elevators, metros, and through the narrow hallways of a trendy brunch restaurant.

We embraced wanderlust, we embraced packing lust, and now we are embracing the result of all that lust, which is a baby. Primary upside: he's adorable.

Deeply adorable. The world -- when I can sweep away the sheer weight of responsibility, thoughts of the strongly worded letters I may write to all installers and maintainers of baby-changing stations in bathrooms, and concerns about poop, germs, and poop, and poop -- is a different place when I am out with Bump.

When we are outside (and inside, and pretty much all the time except when he is extremely hungry or sleepy), Bump acts as a representative of the office of spreading glorious happiness. I watch the faces of people approaching us on the street, the stressed students, the tired tourists, the careworn business people. Those faces transform when they get a glimpse of Bump's slow sunrise smile. They slow down. They smile. Their shoulders relax just a little bit. They sigh. They say things like,

"He smiles from his heart."

"He adorable. He is like, a model baby. He is the model adorable baby."

"Does he always smile like that?"

"Is he always like this?"

Usually I say, "yes, pretty much" in response to the last two questions, but after giving it some thought, I realize that people are hoping they are special, that Bump is smiling at them, really seeing them, seeing their uniqueness and giving them a smiles that recognizes the best in them. And he is. So I may begin to answer differently, perhaps.

Perhaps sometimes I will say, "No, he's not always like this. It's you. You've got a special soul and he recognizes that and wants to give you the gift of his smile as a way to say thank you for sharing that which is good in you with the world."

Or, maybe I'll keep letting Bump's sweet smile do the talking.

2014 In Review

I started off 2014 in cold water.

After feeling like just another member of the hoard of tourists that constantly pulse through Venice, Italy, we found a remarkably local-feeling celebration in the city on New Years Day, 2014. It was at Lido Beach, at an annual event of the Ibernisti club. I joined a bunch of other so-called "hibernators," mostly middle-aged men clad in Speedos and ladies in swim caps, in a celebratory plunge into the ice-cold Adriatic sea. (Anyone is invited.) Scroll down to the lower part of this blog post to read details.

During the ensuing adrenaline spike, I enjoyed a warm lentil sausage soup, and, improbably, the sounds of my Carolina upbringing as a live band played Beach Music there on that Italian beach.

In February we spent some time enjoying the not-so-dry season of the dry lands around Israel and Palestine, including the examination of an extra large hole in the ground.

As Spring came to Palestine, I spent a lot of time at Juthour, the arboretum nurtured into being by our  tree-loving friends, American-Palestinian couple Morgan and Saleh.

Out on the land, I enjoyed long walks with Jelly Bean, getting away from the commotion that came with living in the city center of Ramallah, and picnics with a dear group of friends that we became close to and who made Palestine feel like home into our second year there.

As the year wore on,  I started to feel the pangs of wanderlust.

In April, while celebrating our two-year wedding anniversary at the beach in Tel Aviv, we scheduled a visit to a doctor nearby and learned that the home pregnancy test I'd recently taken was correct.

I was pregnant! We'd been trying for what seemed like a while and had been discouraged and thought it might never happen. After we heard that little heart beat, we joyfully called our family to share the news.

In the first half of the year, we had the pleasure of hosting some friends in Palestine.

When Kimberly visited us, we had the usual Dead Sea shenanigans, plus some new explorations in Nazareth and Jerusalem.

In late June and early July we took a big trip to the USA that included a cruise with a stop in Canada. We saw New York City; Boston; Halifax, Nova Scotia; then Portland, Oregon; Los Angeles; and San Francisco. I had an inspiring bowl of Pho. We went on a cruise with family and I have a wonderful memory of soaking in a hot tub on deck with my dad and siblings  as evening came on and Hurricane Arthur pelted our faces with cold sideways rain.

We arrived back to a summer of chaos and bloodshed in Gaza. In our home in the West Bank, we were never in danger, but our hearts went out to the people who lost so much during the escalation in Gaza, those whom Prince Charming served in his position with a large humanitarian aid organization.

August and September were bittersweet, as we prepared to leave our friends in Palestine and looked forward to giving birth in the U.S., surrounded by family and friends. My belly was growing, and I looked forward to being able to not worry about overcoming a language barrier with healthcare providers in the U.S.

Morgan spoiled me with a spa day that included an all-natural face mask that made me look like an alien.

I ate a lot of bananas and drank a lot of green smoothies.

We visited Armageddon (underwhelming) and the Bahai Gardens in Haifa (wow).

 And we said goodbye.

We arrived in Lumberton, North Caroline where we've been staying with family. They have been so generous in giving us a place to land in the U.S. so that Prince Charming can take a sabbatical and enjoy new fatherhood.

Once settled, we set up the baby stuff and took some short trips: babymoons to the Richmond, Virginia area; to Holden Beach and Asheville, North Carolina and to Charleston, South Carolina. We met the medical staff who'd be attending the birth of our baby.

Then, just before we were scheduled to sit down for a Thanksgiving feast with lots of extended family, I started to feel the birthing waves begin.

Some fifteen hours later, he arrived. Our beautiful son.

We spent the rest of the holiday season lost in Babyland, the reason this blog post is so late. It's an enchanting place to travel to and get lost in. It's a hormone high every time he coos or caws. It's been so fun to get to know this little boy who gets bigger and brighter every day. Time is flying.

Packing Advice on Packing Lust

IN 2013, I posted only one packing advice article on packing lust. in 2014 I did a little better, and posted 5, with a little help from others:

I'm happy with the increase in posts about what to pack this year.

Professionally

Professionally, 2014 saw me simplify my web business situation, combining my coaching practice with Packing Lust. I continue to learn and grow as a creative entreprenuer. I have some changes planned for 2015 to clarify what I do and make my site easier to navigate so visitors can find what they are looking for. Sales of Minimalist Living were strong in 2014 and the Facebook community continues to grow. The Minimalist Living page had around 6,000 "likes" at the end of 2014. I worked on my next book, which will be about the habits required to make a living as a writer or artist, in 2014, but did not make my goal to have it finished and published in 2014. Hopefully I will publish it in 2015. I want to share what I've learned about making money from my writing, but I want to test what I've learned before I do so. I want to earn more income myself through the application of the habits and practices I've been studying. Then I'll share what I've learned in the book since one of my professional goals is to help other writers do the work independent creative work they want to do and get paid for it.

Lessons With Mohammad

Cool Shey Tamaam

I've been taking Arabic lessons with this fabulous teacher named Mohammad:

 

Thanks to his patient instruction, good humor, and abundant provision of coffee and mint tea (shai bee nana), I'm on my way to polyglot-dom. Polyglottony, perhaps.The arabic alphabet is, thankfully, just about the same number of characters as in English.

My  favorite letter is "sha." It looks like this: ش I think it looks like a cup of  شاي "shai" (tea) that someone is sprinkling some sugar into. When it's connected to another letter, it loses the big scoop on it's left, as you can see in the word "shai." Look at that word "shai." It has three letters. "sha" and two vowels "ah" (looks like a 1) and "ai or ee." (ي )My favorite words and phrases so far are: (Arabic is written right to left)

My husband = Zowji = زوجي  No problem  = Mish Moshkilay = مش مشكيلة Tea with mint with sugar = Shai bee nana bee sukar = شاي بي نانا بي سكر Everything is perfect = Cool shey tamaam = كل شي تمام 

I'm still learning; I may have misspelled some of the words in Arabic.

I feel like I'm REALLY close to being able to read Arabic. I'm able to sound out many words on street signs if I give myself plenty of time. Knowing what the words mean is a whole different ballgame. But I have a fun feeling of a whole new world opening up. It's like being five and learning to read all over again.