an update and future plans

I have given up on my paper crafting business for now, for the following reasons:

1. I don’t have enough time to craft, since I’m too busy with teaching these days.
2. There was not much interest in my products and it was a bit discouraging.

I feel like I was going through a manic phase when I started the Etsy shop. (I’m bipolar.) I was so enthusiastic about creating things, and in my excitement I dove headfirst into financial jeopardy by investing so much time and money into a new business.

Now that some time has passed, I have a clearer vision of where I would like to go with my website. Here are some things I plan to work on:

• Another Galen Leather review. I have purchased many more products from them during my absence from blogging; and I have much to say.
• More blog posts. I would like to bring more of myself to my website; help my audience get to know me better. I am planning to write about:
  • Tips, recommendations, and product suggestions for home organization
  • My personal struggles with mental health
  • Marriage, relationships, and friendships
  • Finding peace through different kinds of therapy: art, journaling/writing, quality time with loved ones, self care, etc.
• Board game reviews
• Sharing teaching resources and ideas
• Sharing ideas for journaling: tracking tools, product reviews, daily/weekly spread examples, etc.

I have not been writing much poetry lately, but I have been reading some. I feel a lack of creativity and energy. I will keep working on my website and myself, and I hope that we can connect with one another.

What would you like to see from my website? What interests you? Leave a comment or email me if you have any feedback.

openness 📖

How much would you like to know about me?
You can care only so much.
You don’t want to know every struggle
that every individual goes through.

How much do you really want to know
about my background, sexuality, passions, and loves?
Maybe we can connect
if you find a thread that ties us together.

Do you really want to know
what makes me sad, angry, indignant?
Will you grow hateful and malicious,
if we don’t see eye to eye?

Before I lay myself out in the open,
before I strip my heart bare,
I just wanted to ask:
do you really want to know me?

landscape

I have no poetry in me;
in me, there are valleys
full of dark memories,
there are rivers foaming against the rocks,
full of incomprehensible thoughts and anxieties.

In me, there are mountains,
made of challenges I am yet to overcome;
struggles with my sense of self-worth,
fear of the unknown,
a cruel view of my own self.

There are dark clouds made of past mistakes,
threatening and ominous,
obscuring a blue sky full of hope,
nevertheless,
the sun shines through,
and love endures.

What Brings Me Joy

The smallest things in life bring me joy;
seeing my husband smile,
hearing my cat greet me at my feet,
the smell of fresh pastries,
and the warmth of a cup of tea.

I love using my hands to create;
beautiful little boxes for tidy drawers,
paper flowers that last forever,
drawing, painting,
crafting, and writing.

I find joy, sometimes bittersweet,
in memories, keepsakes,
and personal treasures that remind me of
a time when I laughed from the heart,
a place where I was filled with wonder,
or a person whom I loved.

dreaming

I wish my words resonated more deeply in others
I wish I was more creative and more talented
I wish to be eternal in my own way. #poetrycommunity #poetry

— Ivy (@CraftedByIvy) March 3, 2021

Quarantine Life

I’m just tired
of you treating me
like my father did my mother.

I’m tired
of you slamming doors
and raising your voice at me.

You tell me not to take it personally,
but how can I not,
when I’m the only person around?

Quarantine Life
brought us closer,
so you want to go far
away from me.
Distant.

I love you,
but I’m tired.