In my part of the frozen prairies, there hasn't been much magic lately. There's been ordinary magic that doesn't feel like magic at all when I'm in a rush- the kind summoned by hot chocolate on a cold day, by friends appearing at just the right moment, and by getting the stitches in my new knitting pattern just right. It's unobtrusive magic that casts a quiet spell, but sometimes in the middle of the winter I need a little more.

Right now I don't want to settle, so I'm going to try to make this week extraordinary. I want to make the whole week reverberate with beauty and wonder, with daydreams and triumphs. These are some of the things I'm going to be trying to make it a beautiful one:

Pick an anthem to start the day and dance to it while you're getting ready for the day (mine is as much of Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog as I can listen to while I'm getting ready!) & as soon as you can when you're finished for the day.

Do something you loved as a child. One of the museums in my city has a giant boat in the middle of it, set in a reproduction of a harbor town, and every time I've been there since I was little I couldn't stop myself from being swept away by it. I love wandering through it a couple times a year and remembering that feeling of being small and full of wonder, and wishing I could play on it all day.

Make a deal with yourself. It's so much more fun to follow through on chores and projects when I have little rewards picked for myself. From a salted caramel hot chocolate when I meet a deadline, to making a craft I've been really wanting to try when I get up on time a few days in a row- having little rewards makes the day to day more fun.

Stop being polite. If it's in your heart and comes from a place of kindess, stop holding yourself back. Say “I love you”, say “you hurt me”, say “I miss you”- living whole heartedly takes a lot less effort.

Give yourself a research project & go on an old fashioned date. There has to be one of your interests that you'd like to explore further- so go do it this week! Pick up a notebook and go to your library or to the archives, and do old fashioned research on it- preferably in a giant book with gorgeous photos. Do all the exploring you can, and then go pick up a malt on your way home :)

Tell someone you love why you can't do without them. I've gotten into the habit of telling the people around me exactly why they're so special to me. An enthusiastic, detailled complement isn't something that many of us get a lot- and sometimes the things that make our friends dear to us are things we never mention to them. It's so fun to bowl someone over with kind words, and it always makes my day better.

Have a movie night in the middle of the week. Find a big movie rental store and rent a movie everyone has seen that you've never gotten around to (for me that's Pretty Woman!) and watch it! Extra points if you have a friend over, make s'mores in your oven, or curl up on the couch in the comforter from your bed.

Wake up extra early (with an extra cup of coffee!) Especially when I'm stressed, I often wish I had more hours in the day- waking up extra early for couple days during the week gives me extra time to wake up slowly, read & drink coffee while the sun rises. Starting earlier makes everything feel more manageable, and makes the days that I wake up at my normal time feel like I'm sleeping in.

Suggestion: Have something your parents would never let you have for breakfast as a kid!

(I'm having Eggos, just for fun! Sorry Madre!)

{image: Brett is a Girl}