Craft Updates!

 Don’t worry, all, no TMI content on this one so let out that pent-up breath! This time around I’m just going to put some plans out there for the months ahead. Ideally, I’m looking to nail down all of this in the summer, maybe fall if needed, although some projects are sort of stretchy and are intended to be added to selectively, but I’ll clarify that shortly. This week, I visited my sister in Cincinnati and we saw the new Ninja Turtle movie during the early release showing and got some cool swag, ate at Lake Nina (pronounced like NINE-uh; that famous fish log though, yum!) and did the Penguin Encounter at Newport Aquarium. My first outing since surgery so it was exhausting but fun! I’m relaxing now that I’m back home, but I do have a few things planned to fill quite a bit of time.

On the graphic design side of things, I’ll be finishing up a pop-up card design to publish on Cricut Access and doing some photo editing for a picture my sister wants to get blow up. Craft-wise, I am finishing a house-warming present for my friends Erika and Phil for their new house and I have a few crochet plushie ideas to explore. I also have three small wooden coffin candy boxes that I am going to turn into Halloween style mini dioramas, which may take some time to work out, and a cat café diorama idea using my Obitsu11 dolls and Miniverse DIY parts. I will also be adding a few custom dolls, furniture and decor and walls, doors, signs, etc so this is one I wish to build on meaningfully rather than rush to throw together. Some bits will be built if I can’t find what I want pre-built or in kits. I don’t intend to rush this one.

But those are my priority projects. I do also hope to finish some lingering doll projects that got left behind prior to my health issues and get back to writing and drawing, but many of those were abandoned because they require a stamina and momentum that will take some time to rebuild. Living with that tumor inside of me caused years of damage, mentally and physically, and I will need persistence and patience to rebuild my health. I won’t make the same mistakes of the past where diet/exercise and creativity can’t coexist due to obsession with one or the other. I did build a lot of self-awareness during recovery that I must nurture with vigilance to maintain the balance of both. Working together, I can rebuild those to be a powerhouse again, but it will be challenging and I will experience some frustration and tough decisions. I’ve given the people the impression that my lifestyle is easy and there will be no masking from here on out. Whether or not I am pleasant or not, many people will assume what they want regardless so I find that preparing to be underestimated usually gives me the satisfaction of embracing my own decisions, no approval needed.

But as usual, I will definitely continue on my quest to make women’s health issues more visible and press for them to be taken seriously and treated with urgency and respect. I will explain this as many times as needed that while I will continue calling it ‘women’s health’ because it is a biological branch of medicine, this extends to those that have a uterus that can have these issues and in some cases, even those with estrogen or other biologically feminine-dominating hormonal issues that can relate. Although identity and medical facts are separate issues, they are not exclusive from discussions that can help treat the problems women, trans-women and trans-men may intersect with and share (nor does it mean that problems unique or exclusive to these subgroups is of lesser priority as long as the aim is to increase safe treatment, proper knowledge, and health in all groups included in this under-studied and under-prioritized branch of medicine). We can argue the vocabulary but this is secondary to context and intention; in context of an individual’s case, I do use preferred terms but for the sake of medical clarity, superfluous language unnecessary towards proper treatment can be a hindrance to timely treatment of a suffering patient. I am in a support group that balances the two without issues with hostility for mistakes in preferences and I don’t tolerate trolling accusations of phobia when hostile extremists want to get butthurt over what is generally accepted in spaces where others are free to kindly correct assumptions.

Anyone who knows me knows I am caring and kind but I’m not a pushover for strangers who try to pretend like compassion is a competition. I hate competition so you can have the participation trophy. I just want to fill my life with sharing and inspiration and helping and empowering. Not to lord it over others but because it simply makes me feel good. Selfless and selfish working together is good for accountability. Don’t let anyone tell you they can’t balance well.

I will attempt to keep progress pictures along the way, some I might just hoard and post together in one post or album all at once. I never needed gratification to keep me going along the way. Anything worth doing is its own gratification throughout.