music, therapy, and me

So, here we are. The very last day of 2012. It's time for a bit of reflection and thoughts about what has happened this year. January 2012 January brought a surge of creativity for me as well as intern #19! I posted quite a bit about changes to my website including the launch of the section about Therapeutic Music Experiences (TMEs). February 2012 February found me involved in the 2nd Online Conference for Music Therapy, at home with bronchitis, and at the end of my January creative surge. I thought I would be able to start the CMTE process, but that did not happen financially. March 2012 Manipulation and Mallets were the themes for March. I started my webinar series with a presentation about making mallets. The first webinar went fine...I have since changed the presentation format since the first format was little bitty, but it was an empowering feeling to be able to engage in online conferencing. For this, I have to thank John Lawrence, a music therapist from Canada who ...

Today is my last day to purchase anything before having to figure out how to get it back to my neck of the woods. This may not seem like such a big deal, but when you have to pay to ship stuff 1500+miles away, every ounce becomes precious to you! Here's the situation. I am currently visiting my parents and will have to send my holiday presents and everything I purchase today back to my home on Monday. I have one backpack and one checked bag to take back with me. The conundrum?? How many boxes will I need to send, and how much will it cost?? Regardless of that conundrum (which I will take up seriously after my adventures today), I am going out shopping with my Mom and Sister. This fills me with a bit of trepidation as they are champion shoppers who often disappear for hours at a time and travel all over the lower half of the state looking for "just the right thing." Now, I consider myself a decent shopper - I like a good deal and will hunt until I find the right thing,...

Forgive me for rambling a bit, but my brain appears to have shut down for vacation!! It is time for a rest. I am currently at my parents' home, away from my usual routine, and enjoying some time where there are little to no demands placed upon me. A week of rest is a luxury in my life, but one that is a necessity at times. My problem? I keep thinking about all the things I could be doing if I was at home rather than away. Sigh. The holiday was a good one for me as a music therapist. My family members gave me various and sundry items that will enhance my therapy practice. Some new instruments, several new games, and a VERY interesting device that seems to be called, Symphony in B . Doesn't this thing look cool? I cannot wait to get things going with my little bits with diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder! You move the instrument pieces into a center area and press play. After that, you hear music with the different instruments and can change songs. Let me tell you, my b...

What you are seeing here is the update to my office! Remember the shelf picture from before? Here is the new laminating station ready for new projects! Notice that the space in front of the shelf is actually clear! If you could see the bulletin board, you would see that most of the paper is gone, the laminator has its own place in the office now, and that the specialty papers that I use occasionally have their own place as well! There is still lots of clutter, but I can see that things are getting more organized as I move along!   Here is the rest of my new creativity station! The scrapbooking boxes hold my materials for making file folders, Therapeutic Music Experience (TME) visual aids, and most of my Dollar Tree finds! The rest of the paper and cardstock is in file boxes under the scrapbooking boxes. The binder and the binding materials are in the same place! Can you imagine?? I have found that my biggest enemy in this process has been Pinterest (yes, Sarah, I look at P...

I enjoy a good overview and took advantage of Wordle to see what came out of my blog this year.   Here you go! A word representation of what I have been writing as you, patient readers, have been reading! Thank you for doing so!! I started this blog almost seven years ago as a place for me to write about my passions - specifically the passions of music and of therapy. This year, I have written about the joys and challenges of being a music therapist in the year 2012. I'm hoping that next year's Wordle collage will include lots of references to CMTEs, webinars, and exciting new products offered by musictherapyworks.com specially designed to improve the therapeutic lives of music therapists! On this very dark, very cold December morning, I am thankful for this year of growth and challenge - I have learned so much about myself and my role in the much, MUCH larger world of music therapists! Happy New Year, and may 2013 be a year of continued progress and acce...