Hello! I’m back after a week-long holiday! I turned 26 on Sunday (yay!) & my birthday gift to myself was a week away from the internet. It wasn’t a perfect break (I can never really extract myself from its evil clutches!) but it was pretty good, & now I am back, feeling refreshed, energised & excited to go. I haven’t had a break that long in almost three years, since iCiNG started, so it was long, long overdue!

Here are some fun things you could do this week. What do you have on your agenda?

Monday 14th September 2009
Celebrate Nubby‘s birthday! Wear red, impersonate Michael Jackson & then pass out in all your clothing! (Aw, bless!) Alternately, celebrate the birthday of your favourite Virgo. There are plenty of Virgo writers, Virgo rappers & other rad people whose lives we should be excited about. (Some of my picks: Ani Difranco, Bill Murray, Fiona Apple, Frances Farmer, Greta Garbo, Janet Frame, Jeremy Irons, Jesse James, Michael Jackson, Milton Hershey, Roald Dahl & Tim Burton.) Wear a hat, blow up balloons, eat some cake & have a good time!

Tuesday 15th September 2009
As you recover from the previous day’s sugar coma, make time to go through your jewellery box & fix or re-purpose some of your old treasures. Brooches with the pins broken off or earrings with a mate missing can be made into pretty much anything you can think of. Glue pendants onto a broad headband, pin a necklace to the lapels of your blazer, or safety-pin a bunch of jewellery together & wear it all at once, around your neck. Very decadent darling!

Wednesday 16th September 2009
Take photos of your favourite places: your bed, your best friend’s bedroom, a café, the view from your roof. Get them developed on one of those clever Kodak machines you see around the place, then stick them into your journal, notebook, etc. I am always blown away when I see photos of my old habitats, it brings back so many memories.

Thursday 17th September 2009
Get excited about the new season coming! In New Zealand, it’s all blossoms & big blue skies: very beautiful, whereas in the United States I know the wind has started howling & people are breaking out the cardigans. Think about what you want to do with the rest of your year! Eat lots of soup? Take up running? Hibernate with your sweetheart or dazzle the city with your flirting prowess? Grab a piece of paper & make a big list of things you want to achieve. Stick it to your fridge & cross the items off as you go. (Nubby & I have one of these at International Playgirl HQ!)

Friday 18th September 2009
Read about Louise L. Hay (even better, get your hands on You Can Heal Your Life), & think of some affirmations you could use. Write them down, put them somewhere visible, & start saying them out loud whenever you see them. (You cannot possibly say them enough.) One of Louise’s ones that I really like goes, “I do the work I love, I work with & for people I really like, & I’m earning good money”. Remember to phrase it in the present tense (as if you have it now)! P.S. Look! There’s even a Louise L. Hay iPhone application! That’s the best use of 99 cents ever.

Saturday 19th September 2009
Do some research into continuing education. Many universities & community centres offer classes which only go for a couple of days or occur one night a week. The other day I was at lunch with my friend who has been studying ayurvedic medicine, & as she told me about it, it reminded me how wonderful it is to learn something new. Do a weekend class in photography, creative writing, sales, jewellery-making, Italian, gardening, dance, graphic design… whatever excites you!

Sunday 20th September 2009
Organise to have lunch with someone you wish you knew better. Pick one of your favourite places to take them, & then go on some kind of adventure afterwards. Take photobooth pictures, walk around a park & talk to people together, or go shopping for ridiculous vintage sunglasses. Maybe even all three. Doing something fun & magical will bond you together much faster than just having lunch would!

What do you have planned for this week?