Q: Hide your to-do list, disregard your chores, and take a break from your responsibilities. Consider taking the day off of work, if you can. It's your birthday, and maybe the greatest present will be a bit of quiet and piece of mind. Turn off your work phone and put away your laptop. Take a break from media in general (including social media). Make peace and relaxation your focus for the day, especially if your work life is very busy. Grab some bubble bath, fill your tub with warm water, and soak away your troubles. Include things like a facial mask, manicure and pedicure, and a massage for a real spa day at home! If celebrating someone else's birthday, you can create a gift basket with at-home spa products, like lotion, bubble bath, massage oil, and nail polish, for example. For children, you can get bright colored bubble bath or bath crayons or markers to make bath time more fun. Kick back and relax on your sofa or chair, and pop in your favorite movie. Watch 1 movie or have a marathon. You can also try a new TV show on Hulu or Netflix. Hanging out and watching a flick will give you some time to unwind and let go, which may be the ideal present for your birthday. You can watch movies with your family, friends, or by yourself, depending on how you want to celebrate. When was the last time you could flip through a novel without worrying about your to-do list? On your birthday, take some quiet time for yourself. Spend some time reading a book, newspaper, or magazine. What's more relaxing than your fuzzy pajama bottoms and slippers? Make it a point to stay comfy and relaxed, and you can do this by deciding not to get dressed if you'd like! You can celebrate by setting aside time for things you enjoy. Being creative and working on a hobby can help you wind down and relax, as well as treat yourself to something you enjoy. Work on a painting or drawing, find a DIY craft tutorial, or start a new sewing project, for example.
A: Put aside all responsibilities for the day. Disconnect from your electronics for your special day. Take a bubble bath for a relaxing spa day at home. Have a movie marathon or binge watch a favorite show. Pick up a book and enjoy some quiet alone time. Stay in your pajamas all day. Spend time on your favorite hobbies, like arts and crafts.

Article: You can find colorful butcher paper online, in teacher supply stores, and in certain university/college art stores. Regular arts and crafts stores may not sell butcher paper. You can also use fabric instead, but you may want to hem the edges so that they do not fray. White butcher paper may seem plain, but it will give you a nice canvas to work on. Draw lightly with the pencil so that you can erase the marks easier later on. This will help ensure that your words are straight and not crooked. You don't have to get the font right at this pointjust try to get the rough shape and size. This will help you position the stencils later on. Again, remember to draw lightly so that the pencil does not show through the paint. Some stencils will have a sticky back and will stay put while you paint. If your stencil moves around too much, tape the edges down using painter's tape. You can use a foam brush or a stencil brush to apply the paint. Apply the paint using a light, tapping motion. Try not to apply too much paint at once; you can always apply another coat or two. If you apply too much paint at once, the paint may leak under the stencil and create puddles. If you are painting on fabric, use fabric paint instead. You may want to start out by painting every other letter first, then going back and painting the missing letters. This will give the paint time to dry, and you won't have to worry about accidentally touching and smearing wet paint. Depending on what type of paint you used, this can take anywhere between 20 minutes to 2 hours. Hang your banner up by either taping or tacking it to the wall.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Buy enough butcher paper to fit your message. Draw some guidelines on the paper using a pencil and ruler. Lightly sketch out your message using a pencil. Place your stencil where you want it. Paint over the stencil using acrylic paint. Move the stencil over to the next letter. Let the paint dry before you hang the banner.

Q: Defend yourself verbally when attacked, provoked, or sidelined and take care of yourself when someone tries to put you down, box you in, or even hurt you physically. Don't just stand there smoldering; it's far better to speak your mind. Even if the end result doesn't change, you've demonstrated to yourself and others that you won't stand for disrespect. More often than not, a polite but firm clarification of the disrespectful comment or behavior will be enough to draw attention to the need for it to change, especially where there is an audience. For example: "Excuse me but I was next in line and I'm in just as much of a hurry as the person who pushed in." Avoid whispering, mumbling, or speaking too quickly. The tone of your voice and the speed of your delivery are an important part of clarifying what you want and how confident you're feeling. Naturally, the manner in which you defend yourself will depend on the situation and if someone is volatile, always put your safety first. You should never resort to outright aggression in the process of standing up for yourself. Being aggressive, or even violent, is counter-productive and will not win you any friends. Acting aggressively -- verbally or otherwise -- is like acting out your pain in full technicolor. It's not a constructive way to get what you want and will simply turn people against you. You are far more likely to achieve a positive result if you approach any issues as calmly and objectively as possible. You can still stand your ground and be firm and assertive without having to raise your voice or get angry. Be wary of taking passive aggressive responses toward people and situations. Passive aggressive responses are ones in which you begrudgingly do things against your will and end up filled with resentment and anger, hating people who "make" you feel this way, feeling depressed and helpless. This negatively affects your relationships and can take a huge toll on your physical and emotional health. Most of all, a passive-aggressive approach to life will never enable you to stand up for yourself. Another way of standing up for yourself is to take the negatives thrown at you and transform them into good things. In the process of turning attacks inside out to find the good, you'll often find that feelings of jealousy or insecurity are at the root of the attack. For example: If someone claims you're bossy, rather than letting it cause you to shrink some more, take this as evidence that you're a natural leader, able to manage people and projects well, and a proactive change agent. If someone claims you're shy, take it as a compliment that means you're not ready to jump on the latest bandwagon but like to reflect over the consequences first and then make up your mind. If someone says you're too sensitive or emotional, let this be a sign that you've got a big heart and aren't afraid to let everyone see it. Or maybe someone suggested you're not career-minded enough for you, that confirms you're living a stress-free life that will help you to live longer. No matter how hard you try to increase your confidence, there will be days when you feel that you're backsliding. Rather than seeing this as a defeat in your attempt to learn to stand up for yourself, see it for what it is a day or so where things went temporarily off-track before you feel better and bounce back. Some tricks to help the bounce-back process include: Fake it till you make it. Even if you don't feel confident, act as if you do. Be consistent in your approach. People will grow to expect that the person you are now is a person who stands up for himself. Expect some people to find your more assertive stance challenging. It can take time to reshape the patterns you've formerly established with people who used to walk all over you. In some cases, you'll find you no longer want to be a part of their lives; take it as it comes.
A:
Defend yourself in a calm and reasonable manner. Don't be aggressive. Avoid being passive aggressive. Try to turn negatives into positives. Don't give up.