music, therapy, and me

(Can you tell that this event excites me EVERY SINGLE TIME it happens??) Today is the first day that I will be officially using my new work bullet journal. If you read this blog regularly, then you know that I am a paper planner and scheduler type of music therapist. I sit down every morning (even most weekend days) to write down my tasks and prioritize what I need to do. I use it to capture my thoughts and sort through situations that happen to me. My book is part of my brain and this is important to know as I talk about how I use this as an essential part of my structure. It is my system, and this system makes things happen for me. Now, I do not use any one type of organization system in my books. There are many ways to plan, to track, to use a book similar to mine, and I choose to use my own system. For this, I make my own layouts and spreads to help me do what I need to do. If you are interested in some of the systems that others have developed for their use that I have used from t...

SQUEEEEE! So, I am getting chances to do things that I have never really thought I could do these days. I have been approved to run two ongoing music therapy continuing education opportunities, and I am excited about it all!  The first is a course on Composition and Creativity . It is a self-study course that encourages creativity for music therapists - something that I really love to encourage. Participants can select how many modules they want - either one or up to ten modules at our set price per CMTE - $10.00 per CMTE earned. This course includes topics including composition, budget-minded materials, and avoiding burnout. Lots of choices and options are available, and I get to add new topics when appropriate for me and for other music therapists. I am hoping that I can get some folks interested in taking this course and offering some feedback. This has been a course that I have developed over many years, and it is something that I wish I could take! The second CMTE opportunity ...

My brain is fried. I have been using this phrase lots lately as I seem to be in a slump of some sort - creative, writing, thinking critically type of slump. I had a job offer for a job that I decided I didn't want, and the guilt of turning them down is wearing on me. I have no clear idea what day it is from moment to moment, and I keep trying to make it be Friday instead of Thursday. Lots is going on but is still not going on. I have another interview on Monday for a job outside my usual category but adjacent to my preferred population. The job I turned down was with my preferred population but required things that I no longer want to do with my life, so after some agonizing nights, I finally decided that I needed to just release myself and them from the expectation that I would take the job. I didn't fancy the idea of working full-time in the residences just so I could afford healthcare. That is a difficult job and one that I am not sure I can do these days. So, I let them kno...

Right now, I am going through my therapeutic music experience compendium to find songs and TMEs to go with a specific theme. It is always an interesting experience to dive into the ideas that I have collected over the years. I do not have all of the ideas that I have been exposed to by being around other music therapists in digital form right now, but I do have all of the other ideas in paper form from my first interns before the time when everyone had a computer in their pockets. I have thousands of therapeutic music experiences (TMEs - my preferred theme for what I do in sessions with my clients) in my database (which I like to call my compendium!). Many of them are mine in origin, but many of them are original works of other people. Those do not go into any of my publications because they are not my work - they belong to others. I've had compositions stolen by other music therapists claiming that they composed the songs that I wrote, so I do not do that to others. Those ideas ca...

If you read my posts regularly, then you know that I am enjoying watching Korean television shows, both with English dubbing and with Korean dialogue and subtitles. I keep many of these shows on my streaming lists, and they are just fun. I find that I am not really able to do other things when I am reading subtitles, so it is difficult to read a book or make things with paper while I am watching, but I am still enjoying all of it! One of the things that I really enjoy about watching Korean shows is the music that comes along with them. Most of the time, the lyrics are in Korean so I cannot understand what they are saying, but I am learning some words slowly. It is amazing how much you can glean from just watching television shows. My current show is one I will watch again. It is called Hello, Me! and it will join the list of shows that I love including My Holo Love, Castaway Diva, Behind Your Touch, and many others. The more I watch the shows, the more I get the nuances of the language...

This morning, I sat down to start my blog post, and the power went off. It was only a momentary flicker, but it was enough to reset everything electronic in the house including the computer, the wi-fi, the wired internet, and some of the clocks. Once the electricity came back on, everything started to beep - the vacuum, the ... and now, the sister has called so another interruption for the thought process. I think I should take this as a sign that this is not going to happen today, so I'm signing off until tomorrow... See you soon. 

Yesterday's sleep was not a good one. I am sitting here, wondering what is going on with my body, but I have an appointment today that is causing stress in my life. The moon looked full at 2am, but it isn't. That won't happen until Monday, but I am feeling it now.  I am hopeful about the appointment for today. It is something that is going to be stressful, but in a good way. My biggest problem is that I cannot make a decision until things happen next week. I am in information-gathering mode, so it is time to figure out what I want next. It is nice to have some options. So, my fun on this Friday is going to include learning a bit and thinking deeply about things.  Last night, I spoke to my current intern group about professional behavior and initiative. I always enjoy talking about various topics with interns, mine in the recent past, and others who show up for the hours and the lectures and the conversations. I often wonder if they hear what I am saying, but this group will...

This evening, I will be speaking about initiative to a group of interns. This has been mentioned by several internship directors as something that current students and interns struggle with - looking to see what is needed and then starting to do it. This is something that develops with time, practice, and critical thinking but is not as common as you would think. I feel like this type of learning difficulty has a couple of causes - devices and No Child Left Behind. I have absolutely no proof of these things being the causes of a lack of initiative, but it seems like I can make a bit of an argument supporting my thought process. So, as I start this presentation, I am going to start with the definition of the word. Merriam Webster starts off with "an introductory step" as the first definition. I can work with this. I remember being an intern and having some fear that I would overstep my responsibilities and expectations. I also remember looking for songs to write and things to ...

Yesterday was pretty much a wasted day. I did not leave my house, and I did not engage much with anything that needed any sort of thought process or anything else. I also tweaked my knee yet again, so I spent most of the day just propping it up and not taxing it much at all. Today, though, has to be a different story. I want a music therapy making group, so I am going to start one. I am going to see if anyone wants to get CMTEs for making things, but we are going to spend time making the projects that we need regardless. People who want CMTEs from this type of group are welcome to get them at my usual price. Those who just want to talk and make things in the company of others are also welcome to join for free. I will be releasing visual aids for CMTE participants as well. The proposal is in for CBMT consideration, and then I will release the information to the world at large! Why not take my love of making things to others out there? I am hoping to build a community for this type of cr...

I am still feeling a bit rough, so I am going to postpone my scheduled library trip for Thursday instead of today. This means that I will probably not be putting together any sort of therapeutic music experiences (TMEs) today. Who knows, though? I might get inspired. We will see. Inspiration comes when inspiration comes. I have learned that I can force it a bit, but forcing ideas does not always lead to valuable output. I shared my creative block exercises with my intern group last Thursday, and it helped me find a bit of inspiration for this task of writing music and TMEs. I am currently in between sing about songs  theme ideas, so I do not have a target. I have to head back to my list of ideas and find something that sparks some sort of thought so I can get started. Maybe I will do some dinosaur stuff - I already have visual aids ready for that sort of unit... Inspiration strikes wherever and whenever you are... Yesterday, I went and got my groceries and then rearranged craft mat...

I am in the throes of my autumn ick so my head is stuffy and my throat is scratchy and all that rot. The good thing is that I only have to leave my home to get gas and pick up my grocery order, so I can spend some time wallowing in my home for the rest of the day.  I am gathering a pile of things to laminate for myself and for the future exhibits that I am planning for this spring. At some point, I will sit down and laminate everything before cutting things out and then finishing the projects. I went through the projects that I taught during Creativity Camp 2026, and I have a stack of things ready to sell to others. It is not enough, but that's okay. I priced some materials and found them significantly above the amount that I want to spend, so I am working on additional ways to get books made. I may just print one copy and sell digital resources at the exhibit of the books. I will be able to make enough copies to have one of everything... I am making lots of plans. In the meantime,...

Welcome to the first frost of the 2026 Autumn season! The heater is going strong, keeping my home at my preferred temperature, and I am looking forward to seeing the frost. It makes my everyday backyard sparkle when the sunshine first rises. My backyard faces west, so I get to enjoy the look of frost for longer than my front yard keeps its layer of sparkle. I do not mind the cooler temperatures, but this always brings an autumn ick to me. I am currently struggling with sinus and breathing issues - this is usual at this time of year for me. I don't feel sick enough to go anywhere, but there will be some cold medicine in my future pretty soon just so I can continue to sit upright. I have things to do after all. I accomplished some things this week. I went to the library once and got some work finished. I saw a movie (Forgotten Island) yesterday. I cleared the sewing table off and folded the material that I want to make into some nightgowns. The plumber came and gave my system a clean...

I recently finished sing about the movies  and released it in my TPT store. I have so many ideas and things that go with this theme that I have collected in the time since I published the edition. It is funny how that happens. The ideas flow after the project is done... My sister is currently talking to me about my next themed packet. She has significantly more energy than I have at this point of the day despite being two hours earlier than where I am living. I am getting ready for my autumn ick, so I just do not feel really well. She's having to gather enough energy to work with 22 7-year olds and a student teacher. I don't miss having to find that sort of energy. Not at all. I am going to see Forgotten Island  this afternoon. I enjoy going to see movies, and I often see them by myself. The movie I am going to see is in the tiny theater, and it is about half full according to the seat reservation system. I have to sit closer to the screen than I like, but that's okay. At...

Way back, in my youth, I used to sing a song called "We're Great But No One Knows It!" It was a good affirmation song, and we used to sing it loudly when things were difficult. During the last trip I took, my mom and I were watching an old movie, and the song appeared. I didn't know the origin of the song, other than that I had learned it at camp, and here it was!! The movie was My Sister Eileen . That is really not all that relevant to this post, but it is always interesting to find where songs come from... Anyway, I am in my job-hunting mode right now, and it is not very positive. I am sending out resumes and all that stuff, but no one has contacted me yet. I am trying to figure out how to find funds for medical expenses and am to the point where I am going to have to use my credit cards - which is something I do NOT want to do! It is ridiculous that someone has to use credit in order to get insurance, but I am hoping that I will be able to qualify for some sort of ...

Tuesday. Ugh. This is not the day to be sitting here wondering what I am going to do next. It is library day, so I will be heading out later this morning to see if things get going with my brain and my creativity. I cut out all sorts of cards and decorative papers to make cards for my exhibits this spring, but I can't move forward on that until after tomorrow's visit from the plumber. Once that is over, I will move things out of the storage system that I have started and make as many as I can. I have too much stuff. Not a big surprise to you if you read the blog regularly, but it has been really piling up around here. I have to start the donation process now. It just means that I have to do it - I just need to get started. While I am at it, I should start packing things that I know I will not be needing in the very near future. There is a reason why I kept all of my boxes from my last move. I also want to arrange things for the exhibits that I referenced earlier. No reason for ...

On Friday, before I went a-craftin', I went to some thrift stores to see if I could find an interview skirt and then to the Dollar Tree to roam. I try to get to the Dollar Tree once or twice a month to see what they have that can supplement my music therapy experience design. This month was fruitful for Halloween-themed things. Now, if you know me, you know that I do not celebrate Halloween much. I tend to downplay holidays in my therapeutic interactions with clients because (my former) clients tend to get too involved with holiday excitement and seem to think that it is an excuse not to work on therapeutic goals. This is too bad because there are SO many cool things to shape therapeutic music experiences (TMEs) for this season. Friday's trip was no exception. I left there with all sorts of things, placemats, stickers, playing and educational cards, Mad-Libs, and Halloween Movie Night Kits which go along with my most recent sing about edition: sing about the movies . Of course,...

Now, don't get me wrong, but a weekend of sitting and crafting just knocks me out. You would think that I would be more exhausted after going for walks and stuff, but NO! It's the sitting and crafting that takes the energy out of me. Anyway, I spent 4.5 hours on Friday evening and 7 hours yesterday sitting at my preferred seat at my preferred table with people that I am getting to know. There is Jeanie (all names changed) who has a couple of grandcats, and a whole slew of stepfamily and half-family members.  There is Penny who makes cards by the hundreds and seems to prefer to just work rather than chit-chat. There is Lorraine who colors amazing paperdolls that she makes out of stamps. She also designs t-shirts for her nephews and swap cards for her nieces that have significant layers and steps to them. All of them do wonderful things and are inspirations to my own crafting and creative processes. Meanwhile, I did pretty well myself. I started making cards and got about 110 of ...

One thing about me is that I have degenerating discs in my back. For this, I take medication to help me with the pain, and that medication has interesting neurological side effects that include difficulty focusing my eyes. As such, I cannot drive a car until these side effects wear off. Today, I am feeling the side effects later than usual because I had to take my medication off my usual schedule. As you know, reader of mine, I tend to do better with a schedule than without one, so the change in medication time affected this morning's thinking and functioning. I am now getting to the point where I can feel my brain waking up and becoming more focused. It is a strange feeling, but one that I experience every morning. Last night, I went to the crop at my local craft store (I love these experiences). It had a different feel than the others that I have been to, but it was nice to sit down and try to prod my brain into creation. I am in the middle of making several books, but I am tired...

I am going to go to one of my favorite things tonight and tomorrow - a scrapbooking crop which morphs into doing whatever crafting thing you want to do in the company of other people who craft. A local craft store offers these every so often, and I am finding them to be pretty inspirational and well worth the $25 they charge. So, I am going to be spending some of today preparing for this event. I have no idea what I want to make tonight, but I know that I don't want to make more books. I already have five books that need to be finished and decorated, so I do not need to make more. I might focus on making the things to go into the books instead of the books themselves - clusters, hidden paperclips, pockets, envelopes, belly bands, and that sort of stuff. The largest problem with this type of thing is not knowing what I will be in the mood to make when I get there. I have to pack up my resources, so I also need to think about what I want to do. In the last crop that I attended, I spe...

I am at the place where I do not want to work for anyone. I want to work for myself but I do not have a dependable income coming in and significant health issues so I have to have some sort of money to pay for my insurance. I don't want to leave my house to work, but I also don't want to be at home all the time. I put in a job application last week. I have not heard back from HR yet about the position. I am a bit concerned about that fact, but I also have to remember that I have not been in the job market for many, many years and things have changed a bit. I am watching job announcements and am trying to figure out whether I want to apply for other jobs. This is a strange place to be in - having to find something to do that will generate consistent income and not wanting to stay in this place for very long. Okay, after a talk with my sister, I have submitted two more applications to some jobs outside of the music therapy realm but that I could do...I think. The imposter syndrom...

(Sorry for the title - I really enjoy alliteration...)  I wrote TWO brand new songs while at the library yesterday. TWO NEW SONGS!! I think this going to the library thing might be a good thing for my focus and my task accomplishment! I am going to try it again tomorrow to see if I can replicate the process... we'll see if I am successful. Anyway, that means that my next sing about songs  edition is almost finished. Once I arrived back home, I puttered around a bit and then designed a new board game (related to the upcoming edition). I am going to print that and then make the game to use with someone in the future. After that, all I have to do is write up the TME format for the new songs, copy TMEs for the other offerings, and design one more set of cards/titles for one more original TME. Then I can release the edition!! In fact, let's get started with the game board design. I think I am going to do a folder version and a binder version this time around which means getting out...