music, therapy, and me

Sunday comes around about every seven days, and here it is again. I didn't write last Sunday - I don't remember why - so I am here for this week's version of Just a Song Sunday , and I think I have a good topic today... For as long as I have had the means to do so, I have made playlists. Now, when I started, it was taping the radio onto a cassette tape, but now I can curate playlists from various sources to match every mood that I bring and that represents every client that comes to music therapy. It is an ongoing project, to be sure, but it is wonderful to have all sorts of songs at my literal fingertips. The power contained in playlists is not something that should be underestimated. In fact, one of my music therapy heroes (total fangirl here!), Jennifer Buchanan, has a book all about the power of playlists. It's called Wellness, Well Played: The Power of a Playlist  and discusses how playlists enhance our lives. I love Jennifer - she is a dynamic music therapist from...

It's the beginning of the month which means little around here except that it is time to get my month in order. If you are familiar with my blog and way of doing things, then you know that I am a pen and paper person rather than a digital calendar person. I have been using an agenda or planner for most of my life, and I enjoy the routine of writing things down. I have two planners that I design and use on a regular basis. The first is my personal planner. I keep track of chores, appointments, celebrations, and all sorts of stuff in that calendar. My current personal planner is a red covered dot grid journal that I bought from Michaels when they had a buy one, get one sale. I tend to stock up on blank books when those types of sales happen. I have a set pattern for setting up this planner - one week per spread with limited changes to the format. My second journal is my work planner. This is the one that has changed the most recently because my work has shifted from an out-of-home jo...