Bibliotherapy? or is it just writing therapy?

So counselor Michelle has recommended 15 minutes of journaling per day as therapeutic. Apparently there is a psych from Australia named Michael White who has concluded that it can actually boost the immune system. I imagine it has other benefits as well, or why would a counselor recommend it?

I do enjoy talking to her. I suppose besides the fact that she is quite personable, there is also the fact that she seems to let me off the hook for things I feel guilty about, mostly having to do with Problem Child. The beloved, exasperating, despair-inducing Problem Child.

Never was a child so loved. Never. Except for the other one, of course. Never were 2 children so loved. As I am sure many have wondered before I did, why isn't that enough? The eternal, "why?" I am sure it echoes down history, in every language known to man. It accompanies the devastating, "if only."

Still freaked out by living alone but it is getting a tiny bit better.

I am unsure if this indulgent stream of consciousness is what Michelle has in mind. It was kind of a nebulous assignment, to tell the truth. And I have been bitten by a mosquito, which I blame on Fils #1, as he broke my screen door and after 4 years has never replaced it.

Let me go look up Michael White. Ok, so Wikipedia says he died in 2008. "Key therapeutic ideas developed by White include 'externalizing the problem',^[8] commonly summarised as 'the person is not the problem, the problem is the problem'; 're-authoring' the dominant stories of people's lives; and the idea of 'double-listening' to accounts of trauma: not only the accounts of trauma itself, but how people have responded to trauma."

Not very enlightening, at least not to me.

Here's what wikipedia says about bibliotherapy, "Bibliotherapy is an expressive therapy that uses an individual's relationship to the content of books and poetry and other written words as therapy. Bibliotherapy is often combined with writing therapy. Bibliotherapy has been shown to be effective in the treatment of depression.^[1] These results have been shown to be long lasting.^[2]"

^{I guess what I am doing is actually writing therapy, about which wikipedia says, "Writing therapy is a form of expressive therapy that uses the act of writing and processing the written word as therapy. Writing therapy posits that writing one's feelings gradually eases pain and strengthens the immune system.[1] Writing therapeutically can take place individually or in a group and it can be administered in person with a therapist or remotely through mailing or the Internet."}

^{Michelle said she is giving everyone a writing assignment this week, because a friend or colleague apparently recently mentioned it to her. Naturally I wished it was something special she only wanted MEEEEEE to do. Because I am of course her most special and favorite patient.}

^{Qu'ils mangent du gateau. I wonder what Marie Antoinette would have done with a blog?}

^{I should get to work early tomorrow and try and get caught up, which will never actually happen but I am getting anxious about the way it's piling up. FIVE new losses today! That is a new record. It does make the day fly by, so that's something. I am beyond lucky to have such a great boss. Doesn't stop me from about having an anxiety attack over the work though.}

^{I forgot to note what time I started writing but it seems like this muse be close to 15 minutes.}

^{Some old movie had a song about going to sleep counting your blessings. It might have been Holiday Inn or White Christmas. Here are my blessings, or at least some of them:}

I have 2 kids that I love to pieces

^{I have a family}

^{My parents are both still around}

Fils #1 is engaged so I will have a daughter-in law-next year

I am healthy

I have a house

I have a car

I have a job

I am intelligent

I have a great boss

I am good at my job

I have insurance

My back doesn't hurt

I have at least 2 friends I can talk to when I'm down

A toute a l'heure

CAM

Mon fils and bootcamp

So, mon fils le plus jeune moved out on Wednesday the 20th of July 2011 after having lived with me here in this place since Nov 2005 (and 99 % of the rest of his life). I feel sick. I thought it would be a good thing for both of us but I have an empty feeling. I don't even know if the French in sentence #1 is any close to correct; I just wanted to mark the occasion and make note of my feelings.

On a much happier note, bootcamp is going tolerably well. I only ordered pizza once and that is because mon fils begged me to do so for his last Monday night here.

A toute a l'heure

CAM

Day 1: Mother of the Groom Bootcamp/The Year Without Delivery Pizza

This is gonna be tough, but I owe it to son #1 to look presentable in the wedding pix. So, yesterday was day #1 and it went well! No pizza, I kept within WW points, did a 45-minute aerobics class and then 15 minutes on the elliptical. Yay me! I picked this time frame because this weekend was the engagement party and was exactly 1 year before the wedding weekend

a toute a l"heure

CAM

We have a winner! And it's L'Oreal

a new drugstore mascara has been crowned! The L'Oreal Double Extend!!! Today I am throwing out the L'Oreal Double Extend Eye Illuminator that I started using last month (it is more than 6 weeks old so it's time to go although it was still going strong) replacing it with L'Oreal Double Extend with Lash Boosting Serum. I am going to use the lash boosting serum more often this time PLUS it came with a night time lash boosting serum to use as well as the daytime lash boosting serum that is worn under the mascara...it comes with 2 tubes; one for night and a double ended tube for daytime. I must say that I liked the L'Oreal Double Extend Eye Illuminator despite the fact that the copper tip did not show up at all.

So I am replacing one L'Oreal Double Extend with a different version of L'Oreal Double Extend. Oh the excitement. It is nighttime and I have already applied the nighttime lash boosting serum. I am highly skeptical plus it cost $18.97 plus tax at Walmart. If the lash boosting serum doesn't work by the time I throw this tube out, I will just buy the L'Oreal Double Extend without the extra tube of serum for night.

So, Libya. I said to ma soeur blonde, "Can you believe we are at war with Libya?" and she said, "I don't know if it's war." I'm not saying I disagree with what we did (the jury is out as far as I'm concerned, despite el presidente's speech tonight) but if you start bombing someone I call it war (not a "kinetic military action"). What's with the euphemism? Does anyone really think we are that stupid? If it walks like a duck....

But the big news is Fils #1 got engaged earlier this month!!! And I do adore his fiancee. I started crying when I heard. Mon fils and I drive each other nuts but he is a great guy and a dear, dear child. A wedding next year = time to get serious about the avoirdupois.

A toute a l'heure

CAM

L'Oreal Paris Double Extend Eye Illuminator for Blue Eyes

Just started using it today. So far I like it, as it puts a ton of mascara on my eyes. It's been 12 hours and it is still going strong, which means it will be a mess to remove. It comes with a copper top coat that is supposed to go on the tips only "for every day accents". For intense drama, I should apply the top coat from roots to tip. I didn't use the top coat at all today because I didn't hit enough red lights on the way to work. On verra

A toute a l'heure

CAM

More mascara complaining

So, Definicils continues to disappoint. Tara, a very cool and stylish person at work, told me to get some Lash Injection mascara but it's a bit pricey for me, plus it is not sold at drugstores. She also told me to coat the top of my lashes as well as the underside, as I have such skimpy lashes. That's not really working with the Definicils.

A toute a l'heure

CAM

Mascara!

Just finished a tube of L’Oreal Paris Double Extend Lash Boosting Mascara. Apparently I needed to use the white end more often and within a month it would have given me lusher lashes. But I mainly just used the mascara end and I guess it was good but the other night I was in Macy's (which almost NEVER happens) and I was near the Lancome counter so I bought some Definicils. I used it yesterday for the first time and it is not nearly as good as I remember. Sigh. After 2 coats, my eyelashes still looked practically bald. When this tube is done (and at $24.50 I will be tempted to use it for longer than a month) I am going to give the L’Oreal Paris Double Extend Lash Boosting Mascara another go, this time using the white end on a daily basis.

A toute a l'heure

CAM