Just For Fun...Playing With Paper!

I did a bit of playing with paper yesterday. I've been trying out different techniques to see what hurts my fingers and what I can do with recovering tendon issues and a healed fracture, and I completed a project for a SkillShare Class that I signed up for a while ago. Here is the video of my most recent project - a junk journal.


I took bits and pieces of paper that I had around the house and made them into a journal of sorts. This project is not finished - the only thing done is the construction of the book itself. True junk journalers then take their books and make them into masterpieces of painting, journaling, ephemera, and memories. I don't usually do that much with the things that I make, but I am going to try with this book. It is WAY out of my comfort zone, but that is what this year is all about for me - deepening my experiences to experience things more. For some reason, actually using a book that I make is difficult, but it was nice to know that I could assemble this type of thing again - from start to finish.

Right before I had my hand injury, I was starting to make books for others to use. That all came to an abrupt halt when I broke my fingertips and wasn't allowed to life more than one pound or bend those joints for months on end. Now that I get to move things a bit more, I am trying to get back into my paper crafting routine. This is one of my most satisfying self-care routines. I want to do more of this type of creation in this next month - in fact, I think I will make this one of my three goals for this month - making more stuff to send to friends. I have two on my list to make journals for, and I enjoy making targeted journals for friends. It makes sense to make this part of my self-care routine this next month.

I haven't done well on my current goals for the past month - Saturday Sabbath or decluttering. I would give myself 2/10 scores for both of those goals, but my other goal - cooking for myself - gets 9/10 for this month! I have spent time making my favorite foods to eat at dinner time, so I think that one is a good goal to continue with a slight expansion. For the next month, I think I will try making something to eat every week, AND I will make one new entree this month - something from a recipe rather than just throwing things together and hoping that it will taste good. My other two goals are going to change this month.

I wanted to get myself into a routine of making my Sunday School videos ahead of Saturday so that I could do nothing but rest on Saturdays, but I am often stuck waiting for the other folks who are on the reading list to do their videos before I can do the final editing and uploading. Since I have to wait for them to do what they need to do before I can do what I need to do, I am often not able to do anything until Saturday mornings. So, I am going to adapt that goal to reflect this reality. I would like to finish my parts of the video before Saturday each week during the next month. That means that I need to do the opening slides, the activity based on the readings, and the closing slides before Saturday morning. This should be doable since I've been trying to get myself to do this for the last month anyway.

My second goal, that of decluttering, has been on hold this month as I have been finding it difficult to do much of anything around my house. Tomorrow, though, I am starting the process of moving to a new place. I am tired of demon exorcisms and random property damage at my current home, so it is time to start looking for a new place to live. Since this is on my big goal list, I need to declutter as much as possible before I move. Nothing is worse than moving something and then throwing it away. Better to throw it away first BEFORE moving. I am not sure how I will structure this process yet, but I will try to figure it all out before tomorrow when my new goal month begins. Something to think about...

I think I am doing better with monthly goals now that I am planning them in the middle of the month rather than at the start of each month. My theory was that I should go with my natural rhythm and plan things during my down time rather than in my up time. This seems to be working for me. I find that I am able to establish doable goals during the middle of the month rather than pie in the sky goals when I have lots of energy. So, today is goal review and goal setting day.

Time to sit down and envision what my life will look like this time next month - Spring Break will be starting...oh. That's a happy thought!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear AMTA

Dear American Music Therapy Association: I am debating long and hard about remaining in this relationship. I have been in this relationship since college, and this is not a decision that I am taking lightly or without great cost.  I am not happy with what you are bringing to this relationship. Now, I have been a selfish partner over the past several years - mainly because I am not feeling like we share a common mission anymore. It is easy for me to place the blame on you, but I know that this is not all on me. I have tried to be invested in communication and support and understanding, but everyone comes to a time where enough is enough. I am trying very hard to decide if the benefits that you provide to me are worth the feelings that I have about where I think you and I are going. I am not sure that our destination is the same anymore, and this makes me sad. To be completely honest, I am only in this relationship these days for the music therapy interns. I don't think that is a hea...
Read more

Songwriting Sunday: Repetition

Image
One of the things that I find to be helpful with my client population (children, adolescents, and young adults with dual diagnoses) is repetition of phrases, lyrics, and music. As a result of 30+ years of working with this population in various iterations, I have found that my clients respond the most to songs with three repeated phrases to prime their responses with a different phrase to communicate the important part of the experience. DISCLAIMER: This is not a definite way to write music for clinical interactions. This is what seems to work well with my particular group of human beings. Don't go to your supervisors and tell them that I told you that this is the ONLY way to write music - It is NOT! You have to find what works for your clients and for their clinical goals. Since my clients respond well to this type of song, I tend to write songs in this format more than any other. What I have found is that my clients remember these songs more than the ones that I do in different f...
Read more

Being An Internship Director: On Hiatus

Image
It has been long enough since I have had an intern that I am seriously feeling like I have little to say on the subject. At the same time, I am currently writing Chapter 5 of my general internship handbook, so I am able to write about being an intern and what types of things to think about during this important time in our professional development. It is a strange place to be in, and it is one that is a bit challenging for me. Right now, I have had three vacant internship positions since the beginning of the calendar year. I will have a vacant position next month and that will be an entire year of rejected offers. In the past nine months, I have offered positions to three applicants who have declined. It is interesting how people complain that there aren't enough internship programs, but programs like mine are empty. I guess there aren't enough internship programs that pay large stipends (which mine cannot) out there. I get it. It is interesting to me how we have moved from an ...
Read more