music, therapy, and me

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...

I have so many half-written songs in my ideas book that need to be formalized and released, but I have had little to no interest in doing that recently. It is time to get that project going, and I have a new system to help me accomplish this particular task!! (See yesterday's post if this statement is confusing.) Many of the half-written songs that are waiting to be completed are done in every aspect except setting the songs into professional looking notation. All I need to do is use my notation software to finish these tasks. Perhaps that will be my focus for this morning. I am interested in leaving my house, and I am thinking that I might want to try working somewhere else. The library seems to be a good fit for what I want to try, but I am hesitant to go. I don't know why I am hesitant, but I am. Fear of the unknown, I guess. All I know is that I am feeling antsy while at home. There are too many things that need to be done in order for me to concentrate the way I could some...

I have a dilemma. There are too many things on my to-do and want to-do lists to actually accomplish. I try to work on things, but I get overwhelmed very easily these days by the amount of things that I want to do. I end up doing nothing. The overwhelm keeps getting into my way. I have a crop at the local craft store this upcoming weekend. At the last crop, I spent most of the time brainstorming plans for my business, and I felt like it was good for me and my attitude towards my role in this profession. I will try to do the same thing during this crop - brainstorm in between making things. What does a crop have to do with the many things that I want to try? Well, having time outside of my home in the company of creatives seems to spark my interest in getting things done inside my home. For some reason, I do better working on these things around other people than I do alone. So, I will be heading to the crop with my idea book and my plan book and the good pen for writing notes. I will al...

This title has two meanings for me right now. First of all, the phrase comes from The Muppet Show Theme , and the Muppets are one of my favorite groups of things in all the world (second only to Star Wars , I think). Secondly, this is something I need to be doing. There has been a severe lack of music making in my life recently, and I am itching to be back in some capacity where I can make music with others. The song itself, The Muppet Show Theme , is a good one for thinking about friends and about being together with some sort of common goal. It brings back good memories for me as I was around during the first run of the show back in the late 1970's, and we watched it almost religiously. It was one of the few television shows that we were allowed to watch - this and anything put out by Disney - so it made an impression. I have all the episodes on DVD now, and it is amazing how many of the clips and skits could be used in music therapy sessions. I was being groomed to be a music th...

I was reminded why I left the group, Music Therapists Unite, several years ago this week. A post was made that ruffled feathers in all sorts of ways, and the discourse became quite nasty towards some of the posters. Looking at the post was enough to turn me away from the group again, but I need to be there to advertise different events, so I am still seeing posts.  I wonder why some of us feel the need to denigrate other music therapists based on opinions and expectations. For some, it seems that the entire reason for living is to make others see things their way and become disciples of "THE RIGHT WAY TO DO MUSIC THERAPY!" There are specific voices that come out stridently and insistently to correct the behavior of others in ways that are based in personal opinion rather than fact. This was my problem with this group to begin with, and it is now back. That's it for today...just a mini rant about how we do not unite as a profession, and most of the division appears to be f...

I am getting ready for a home invasion - of sorts. The heating guy is coming to tune up my furnace before it is needed. This is a good service, and one that I really need. I planned it, so it is not a surprise, but still, it requires planning on my part. The biggest problem about all of this is that I have to be "on-call" until they fit me into their schedule. That makes me sit here, going through nervous work until they arrive. It is not the best situation to be in for me and my nervous system. In addition, I had to change my debit card, so this company has been calling and sending texts letting me know that the card that they have on file is no longer working. Each call and text just sends my nervous system into overload. On the other hand, I have cut down a whole bunch of cardboard to use for making books this fall. I have moved things around downstairs to accommodate someone clomping around my space that does not know where to step, and I have moved some things from the o...

Let's face it... There is a HUGE disconnect between the number of music therapists out there and the number of available jobs. Every single day, I see posts both from music therapists who cannot find a job and music therapy business owners who are desperate to find music therapists to work. Every single day. I pay attention to these discussions, posts, and comments because music therapist attrition is something that has always interested me. I have often wondered why our profession continues to be so young and inexperienced, and I have collected many answers from therapists who have remained in the profession as well as those who have left. There is no simple answer to the question of why are there so many open music therapy positions and so many music therapists who leave the profession because they can't find jobs. Not everyone is able to or wants to move where the jobs are. Not everyone can sustain their desired quality of life on a therapist's salary. Not everyone wants...