Music and Music Therapy Helps Teen Fair Victim Rebuild

I came across this post today and thought I would share it. It's about a teenager who became paralyzed after the Indiana Fair accident before a concert.



Click HERE to read the article.

I think it is important that hospitals nationwide offer music therapy in hopes to connect with a patient, make them smile, and make them feel worthy.

My New Job

I am very excited to announce that I have been offered a full-time music therapy job (with benefits!) at a facility in Irvine. Let me tell you the story of how I created this job opportunity for myself...


My job search started in late July, early August. I really wanted to wait until we were settled back in California to start the search, mostly because it is so time consuming. Once I finally started looking online, there were no music therapy postings anywhere. Uh oh. No need to panic, I signed up as a TakeLessons instructor, got a contract for a company down in San Juan Capistrano, and a contract for the Children's Music Fund. By no means was this going to pay the bills.

I started searching Craigslist and came across numerous companies hiring for speech therapists, behavior therapists and occupational therapists. Unfortunately, and obviously, I didn't qualify. However, a thought came across my mind. Why not offer my services to these companies that offer amazing therapies that go hand in hand with what I do? I had to be creative. And that's what I did. I emailed various companies in the Orange County area offering music therapy. I included a cover letter, resume, recommendation letters...the whole shebang.

You know what? It worked. All it took was one hit (and several interviews and meetings) and now I have a full-time job.

I will be working as a music therapist for a facility that offers speech, occupational and behavioral therapies. I am starting from nothing, starting a program I have always wanted to start, fulfilling my dream on someone else's dime. And most importantly, I will be working with kids with Autism, making a difference one smile at a time.

Update 4: "The Next Chapter"

It's been a while since I talked about music therapy on this "music therapy" blog of mine. Ending my job in Cincinnati back in June allowed me to have a nice summer of traveling, moving, and getting settled in Southern California. Many things have happened since the traveling stopped.

We moved to Orange, California. Our new home is right across the street from this place, 2 miles from this place, and 4 miles from this place . Yay!

We got a puppy! We rescued a 4-month old MaltiPoo named Poppy and have fallen in love! Caring for a puppy is a full-time job in and of itself! Phew!


Poppy the puppy

The next big announcement is: I got a job! I can't wait to tell you all about it in the next post.

Update 3: Vegas!

Our last stop on our long trek back to California was Vegas. We love Vegas, but someone has made Vegas even more exciting, and that is Teren's best friend, RCorry. He moved out there in March to start working for the Smith Center. Hubby and I were very excited to see him and Rachel in Vegas, catch up, gamble, sun bathe, and shop. To our surprise, our friends Trent, Amanda and Jeff were there, too! Sneaky RCorry.



Jeff and me (that was a very nice bathrobe)



The girls!



The boys!



All of us in the elevator

Up next: "The Next Chapter"

Update 2: Wisconsin for 4th of July

Wisconsin was our first stop on our long haul from Cincinnati to California. You may be wondering...why Wisconsin? It's not really the most direct way...

Well, I have family there! We spent the 4th of July with my Grandma (who is 93!), Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. We had a blast! My family is from a little town called Hazel Green, Wisconsin (located in the south west corner). We spent the 4th on the Mississippi, at a parade, and at a local town, Shullsburg.



At the parade!


Teren and Layla on the Mississippi


Fireworks in Shullsburg


My Grandma with her great grandchild (my cousin's son)

I love the 4th of July :)

Update 1: Caribbean Cruise

On my last post found here, I talked about things that I was excited about. The first one was my family's Caribbean Cruise.

We had an amazing time (to say the least). We enjoyed Royal Caribbean's "Oasis of the Seas" boat and went to Haiti, Jamaica, and Cozumel. Take a look at some of our pictures!


On the "Boardwalk"



My hubby and me at dinner



Musicians on Labadee, Haiti



The gang in Haiti



My brother and our tour guide in Falmouth, Jamaica



My mom and dad - love them :)



Hubby, Mom and Me

Here's to the first of many updates that will be coming soon! Lot's to catch you all up on!

Tomorrow's My Last Day at MTS

Well, I've survived my countdown, to say the least. Tomorrow is my last day at MTS and I have mixed feelings.

Things I'm excited for:
Seeing my family next week for a Caribbean Cruise!
Seeing family in Wisconsin for July 4th.
Seeing RCorry and Rachel in Vegas!
Moving back to California and starting "the next chapter" of our lives.

Things I'm not excited for:
Saying my final goodbyes tomorrow at work.
Leaving my first 'real' job.
Leaving my/our friends in Cincinnati.


Here are pictures from the rest of Teren's graduation week!


Teren and his parents: Rande and Adrienne


Adie, Aunt Robby (Rande's Sister), Me, and Ronna (Rande's Sister) Dinner at La Poste


Uncle Henry (Ronna's Hubby), Teren, and Rande