Christmas Post Script 2: Dad and Michelle.

After staying the night at Mom's, we had lunch with Dad and Michelle at a Chinese food and sushi place. I ordered crab rangoon since Oliver had (surprisingly) liked them in the past. He probably ate four of them. We know what to order now!

I gave Dad a hardcover anthology of short stories about robots and artificial intelligence (He has programmed and sold industrial robotics since I was little). And I gave him a big book of portraits of major comedians.

And I gave Michelle a lot of makeup, mostly types of eye makeup I've tried and liked. It's fun to have another family member who enjoys makeup.

Dad and Michelle had given our family a new laptop. I can easily do paperwork, research advocacy information, keep up with my blog, and watch movies. Dad and Michelle gave us some money for Oliver. Maybe we'll take Oliver to Target and just see what he likes. That should be interesting!

And when Dad told Oliver, "I love you," for the first time ever, Oliver said, "I love you" back.

Nourish/Challenge: Week 1.

I've finished my first week of Nourish/Challenge. I didn't finish any books this week, but I did read one-per-day-plus extra-short stories--Hint Fiction. I've nearly finished Mary Oliver's Winter Hours. I'm also almost done with the tiny-book-club pick Acceptance--the last book in a trilogy!

Right now, I feel the nourishment of reading more than the challenge, but staying on track is still difficult. I challenge myself to read for one hour without stopping. I'm usually so distracted even when I'm alone. I also need to push myself with my children's literature focus. I have chosen several books, and I need to get going.

I picked up 'Salem's Lot again after a long absence. I don't remember much, but the storytelling still draws me in. Right now, it's a treat.

I've been responding to many prompts in my journal--just ideas I write on the top of a blank page to address later. Many of my responses become blog posts. I think that challenging myself with some focused prompts is good for me. Some of the prompts come from questions or thoughts from other writers, so I feel they are challenging me.

I didn't make it halfway through my To-Do Wish List, but I worked hard at it. It's time to make a new list, a new challenge. I also need to watch for or create nourishment--scraps of time with Josh, talking and good TV with Bruce, phone calls with Mom, enjoying good magazines before Oliver shreds them, and reading something sweet.

Christmas Post Script: With Mom and Shane.

We visited Mom and Shane at their new house when Oliver was feeling better. The house is tiny, a cottage really, and it's adorable. The storage is amazing. Mom and I were quickly ready to open presents. Here are some highlights.

Mom and Shane gave Oliver a little fire station with a fire truck. He loves fire trucks.

We gave Shane some plaque-style photos, maybe for his office, and some caramel and chocolate.

I gave Mom a blush palette (since she's off the shadow), Stila lip glosses, and lilac luxuries (one of her favorite scents).

Mom and Shane gave Josh North Carolina-themed apparel and décor, which he always likes.

They gave me some theatre clothes: a gray skirt, black and purple floral top, and silver glitter top. Shane found a blue, white, and gold water bottle with a seahorse on it! I love it. Mom found mermaid notebooks and sticky flags. Mermaids have been a major theme this year, and I love it.

Mom agreed to watch The Space between Us, one of my favorites, and it meant a lot to me. She even liked it!

Mom had some magazines for Oliver to shred.

The weather was gloomy, but we were happy.

Christmas Day: With the Boys.

Because Oliver was sick, the boys and I ended up having Christmas at home, just us, for the first time. It was mostly relaxed. Oliver just lay on the floor by his presents when he got too tired.

He woke around 5 a.m., and around 7 a.m., we decided to go ahead, sit by our forlorn tree, and open gifts. We gave Oliver family photo plaques from Shutterfly--almost indestructible. We gave him a plastic helmet like Super Grover's. Oliver has liked hats since he was tiny. We gave him a wooden car carrier with emergency response vehicles. And we gave him a Super Grover pillow and a Super Grover tee with Oliver embroidered on it. He didn't seem especially excited about any of it, but we tried!

I gave Josh a couple of fun T-shirts, a couple of plaque photos for his office, an absurd retelling of a Muppets' Phantom, and a mostly-out-of-print collection of novelizations of Jim Henson films. I was pretty excited about the hardcover box set, and Josh did seem to like it.

Josh gave me several gifts; I'll just tell you about a few of them. He gave me silver star or snowflake dangly earrings from Loft. I love them! I like how they look against (or tangled in) my dark hair. He gave me Fragrant Jewels ring bath bombs, mostly for snowflake rings). He gave me a PaperBlanks journal (fancy!) with silver filigree over deep pink. I'd wanted it for years! And he gave me The Mermaid Handbook. So I had one mermaid book already, and now, I have one from Bruce and another from Josh. I'll have to make a goal to learn all about mermaids in 2019.

So we had a quiet day and didn't expect much of ourselves. We ate the dinner snacks we had bought for our guests, and Josh donated our big Cracker Barrel holiday meal. But Christmas wasn't over!

Restoration: Week 52.

This past week has been a little crazy. Oliver got pink eye and a stomach virus, and he was getting dehydrated. So Josh's parents didn't come as we'd planned. We had our first Christmas at home, and it was just us. We didn't mind.

On Friday and Saturday, we got to see my patchwork family (except my brother :( ). Mom and Shane have a charming, tiny new house. Mom showed me her beautiful bitsy craft room, which encouraged me to take my creativity seriously and reminded me of the importance of ribbon and glitter.

Mom agreed to watch The Space between Us, a movie I just love. And she liked it!

We had a nice lunch with Dad and Michelle. I gave Michelle eye makeup--presents don't get much more fun than that!

I wore pink and glitter during the whole trip!

A Bold Reader: Week 52.

This was my final week of the A Bold Reader series. I think I have become more confident as a reader. My goal was to read 50 books. I read 50 and increased my goal to 60. I read a total of 61! Compared to last year's 20-something read list, that is pretty amazing.

I'll still be ambitious with books, but I'm going to add reading updates to my weekly word-of-the-year posts instead of having two recurring weekly posts.

I didn't finish any books this past week, but I did make progress. Bruce and I will finish Acceptance soon, and he's already ordered copies of our next book. I like having that extra motivation.

It's time for me to set my GoodReads goal--50 books--which I hope to surpass. What is your goal?

Word of the Year: 2019.

Last year, my word was Restoration. I blogged about it weekly, and I think I made a lot of progress and discoveries. 2017's word was Delight, which was as much about paying attention as about finding or making new sources of delight. A few years ago, my word was Invest, and I put more effort and energy into becoming the person I want to be.

This year, I've decided to cheat a bit. I'm going to have two words but treat them as one motivator and dream. Some of you may have read my blog post "Nourish and Challenge." Now, Nourish/Challenge will be my double word. They are each essential to the other, and I didn't feel I should separate them. Here are some ways I can use the companion words.

• Read hard and often. Read tough and read delighted. Don't put off special or intimidating books. Reading can be both the nourish and the challenge. 
• Continue with my goals and rituals. The year is beginning with children's literature. The challenge is convincing myself to quit whatever I'm doing and read. Children's lit should be bright if I surrender to it.
• Finish reading the Bible. I plan to do this by my birthday. It's certainly challenging, but it's also nourishing in its hope.
• Pour out affection. Everyone needs it in some form. It's a challenge, especially since I'm kind of reserved, but giving always nourishes the heart.
• Challenge myself to exercise often and eat well. I need to take care of my body, and I hope to lose significant weight this year.
• Do creative work of some kind. Send some of it out.
• Nourish myself with movies, good shows, and musical theater. They seem to light up new parts of my brain and heart.
• Maintain and nourish my most important relationships.
• Check etsy for an engraved coin with Nourish on one side and Challenge on the other. A little reminder.

Please, tell me your word for the year!