2 Books I'm Reading and am Excited About

Brain research fascinates me. New findings are especially interesting as I work to crack the code on what makes Grace tick (and all of us, really). One way to describe Grace's difficulties is by saying that she has "indigestion of the nervous system." A therapist recommended a good book to us, A Users Guide to the Brain, by John Ratey, psychiatrist and leader in the field of ADD and ADHD. This book illustrates the four "theatres" of the brain and helps shed light on where things might be getting jumbled up for Grace.

Recently I've gotten interested in the subject of music and the brain, which is endlessly fascinating to me as I explore the touted benefits of music for young children (both to play and to listen to) as well as reflect on my own musical history. For example, am I a left-brain musician? It would appear to be the case as I excel at sight reading--I can read almost anything you put in front of me on the piano, flute, or penny whistle--yet have found no success in picking out more than the basic chords and melodies on my guitar and have real difficulties learning to play a piece "by heart." I'm a very logical and literal person, (left brain) yet I think I'm creative too (right brain). And what makes me love or dislike a song? The lyrics? The timbre? The pitches? The rhythm?

I'm currently reading two books that address some of these issues: This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession, by Daniel Levitin and Between Couch and Piano: Psychoanalysis, Music, Art, and Neuroscience, by Gil Rose. This is really exciting stuff to me, and I can't wait to see what role music "plays" in Grace's (and Johnny's) development.

The Naked Cooleys Band

We started a new band in my family over the weekend called the Naked Cooleys Band. But before you get too excited (or too grossed out), let me confirm that Grace and Johnny are the only members of the band. They were inspired by these guys.

The Most Interesting Thing In My Purse

I've driven from North Carolina to Colorado three times: Two times just my mom and me (Think "Toot and Louise"...and no, my mom's nickname didn't have anything to do with whether or not you'd enjoy spending long periods of time in a car with her....) and the third time with my mom, sister, and David. Don't you know that was just a blast for David.

David passed the time by delighting my mom with little games such as, "What's the most interesting thing in your purse?" and "What's your all-time favorite Sally Field Movie?" etc.

Below is the contents of just one of my purses (I have about three in rotation every season) and I'll let you be the judge as to what is the most interesting item.

1. an apple
2. my wallet
3. a broken pair of sunglasses
4. one almond
5. a polka-dotted all-purpose notepad
6. purell hand sanitizer
7. one upper Crest White Strip
8. a Disney Minnie Mouse pen
9. a mini Hello Kitty notepad
10. toothpaste
11. random receipts
12. Bath and Body Works lip and face balm
13. a lollipop stick (just the stick, no candy)
14. another almond
15, a matchbox sized four-wheeler
16. a quarter
17. a dime
18. two prescriptions
19. a tube of earplugs (?)
20. a bottle of Dim Sum (and dim sum more) (this is a nutritional supplement, btw)
21. a broken watch
22. 2 tubes of concealer (cover up...you know, makeup)
23. 10 "ink" pens
24. 8 things of lip gloss in varying shades of pink

A Day Off? Off My Rocker, Maybe

Some people think I sit around eating bon bons on Fridays, my day off. Here's what I have lined up tomorrow, or today by the time you read this:

7:30 AM Drive Grace down to Pre-School in Pittsboro
9:00 AM Go into work for a couple of hours to deal with computer server problems, a broken air handling unit and room set up for an event on Saturday
11:00 AM Drive from Cary back to Pittsboro, pick Grace up, drive her to SFFA, and then drive to West Franklin Street for an Literacy Council planning meeting for two author reading events that we're planning for spring, Haven Kimmel, and Sarah Dessen.
12:30 PM Pick Grace up, take her to Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy
3:30 PM Pick Johnny up and take Grace and Johnny to UUMC to volunteer in the childcare room during the Red Cross Blood Drive.
5:45 PM Donate Blood
6:00 PM Drop the kids off at home and head back down to Pittsboro for a Parent Work Group at the PTA Thrift Shop
8:30 PM Finally get home to enjoy the rest of my "day off."

How do I get myself into these things?

Nothing Gold Can Stay

My favorite poem:

Nothing Gold Can Stay
by Robert Frost

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.