Ready to be excited?…I decided to illustrate this week’s list! Bits of it kind of overlaps with the zine I’m working on (sshhh don’t tell!). Today was pretty brutal in terms of humidity, I felt so uninspired that I skipped my daily morning workout. I’ve been doing it for about two months now because I got tired of being out of shape and well, college made me gain more weight than I prefer to have. Above all, I’m simply trying to be a healthier and more active me; losing weight will just be a nice perk. I’m just surprised how skipping my morning routine today made me so sluggish all day. The heat was unbearable and I spent a good part of the day in a grumpy mood. Around 3pm, I couldn’t take it anymore and did some stretches and just doing those, brought up my spirits dramatically. Lesson learned. This is why I can’t stop smiling when I think about how close autumn is…I’ll want to be outside everyday. My love for autumn is so overwhelming that I had to draw some of my favorite things about the season. Here is list number five:

p.s. Don’t you love my carved pumpkin? I think it fucking rules. Oh and when I say that I LOVE pumpkin pie, it is quite the understatement…someone make some with me very, very soon? Please okay thank you goodbye.

I was looking at old photos again and couldn’t help but make this post about Peter and I, in response to my last post. A lot has happened these past couple of years and I couldn’t have asked for a better guy but now things are different so we must move on. These photos are only snippets of the hundreds of memories that I won’t ever forget. Enjoy looking at our past. THIS IS LIFE.

I’ve always hated the phrase “best friends” because it cuts off other people in your life that are just as awesome so I usually say “close friends of mine” when I refer to them. However, for Peter, I can honestly say he is my best friend and it makes sense since the last five and half years have been spent with him. I’ve said this before, but I really don’t want to bring too much of my personal life into this blog. I usually skim over the details and this will be no different. The big news is that Peter and I have parted ways and I’ve been keeping it secret for a long time now. It was probably the nicest break up in the history of break ups. The photos in this post were taken today and are further proof of how close we still remain…as friends. We still have several plans on collaborating on future art and design projects so you will definitely hear more about us working as a team. I just wanted to write a quick note here so my future posts won’t raise a lot of questions and why I’m not mentioning Peter as often as I used to. A lot of other big things are happening and I have so much to do, plus deadlines! I’ve missed having deadlines! More on that later. And thank you very much to our friends who have been helping us deal with this big change, but also understanding that this is what we want and what feels right. Things just don’t work out sometimes and that is just the way it is. We are happy + doing exciting new things, the end.

I was gone most of this past week – thanks to my friend Brian. I was invited along and met several new people, stayed with an awesome lady, met up with a few close friends too, and simply experienced New York for once. I’ve been to the city before but for half day trips sponsored by UArts and I found the time there too limiting and rushed. Well, three and a half days were more than enough to gain a better understanding of the subway system, the people, and the fact that well, NY isn’t as overwhelming as it seems. I still love the smallness of Philly a lot though. I also took the Bolt bus for the first time and loved how it didn’t get crowded, noisy, messy, and hello, free wifi! I’m looking forward to making more trips up there + have more solid quality time with friends. You hear that Mandi? I’ll be back again real soon. Enjoy the photos and ignore the fact that I look very tired in the photo above because I was in fact, very tired. We were eating at Red Bamboo which pretty much rules for veg*n dining. The perfect last night in New York.

Yes, that is Balto up there. Did you ever watch this movie? I used to love it when I was a kid. I haven’t watched it since then, maybe I’ll watch it tomorrow.

It should say instead ‘things I’ve never done but want to do” or maybe “things I’ve never done…yet” but you never know what life throws at you so I don’t want to have any expectations. Expectations just lead to disappointments…yes, I am that cynical. I’m kidding (sort of), besides things are better as a surprise – when you least expect it. I’m gonna try to be more honest on this list too since I kinda didn’t take the last one very seriously and because I am four days late with this post! Oops. My excuse? Last minute trip to New York! Pictures and words coming soon.

1. ice skating
2. been to Chicago, San Francisco, Portland (OR)
3. been to Europe
4. watched Pulp Fiction
5. made sushi
6. grown a vegetable garden (gimme a yard philly!)
7. been inside a real working lighthouse
8. been a bridesmaid
9. been camping with friends
10. lit any fireworks or sparklers
11. gotten a tattoo
12. had a full-time job (always just a few hours under)
13. never tried the original V8
14. been to a funeral
15. seen this beautiful thing
16. or this
17. driven a stick shift
18. learned to swim
19. lived by myself or with friends/roommates
20. seen a broadway show or other large theatre production
21. ridden a horse
22. gone on a blind date
23. gone up in a hot air balloon (would be ecstatic + scared shitless at the same time)
24. painted the walls of a room
25. played Pictionary
26. been to more than 14 U.S. states (most were in New England)
27. knitted anything beyond a scarf :|
28. sang in front of more than two people
29. been on a rowboat in the middle of a lake
30. been apple picking (only berry picking and corn mazes)
31. flown a kite*

This list took much longer than it should have..I didn’t want to write obvious things so I really had to search my brain for things, however little and insignificant it may seem. It would also be interesting to come back to this post, cross off things as I do them (other lists too), and read it ten years later and see how much I have actually done.

*I came back and added this after hanging out with my good friend Mandi. She was shocked that I’ve never flown a kite before, oh well.

I love baking more than cooking for sure, so these muffins were easy for me to do. They are super moist and the strawberry creates the perfect tartness against the really sweet banana flavor. No need for any earth balance either. This recipe rules…now, go make some muffins!

1 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
5 large bananas, mashed (depends on how sweet you want it)
1/2 cup vegan sugar (i got mine for cheap at whole foods. huge bag, lasted forever)
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon of ground flax seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup strawberries, diced
turbinado (raw) sugar for sprinkling on top
millet seeds for bottom of muffin (before you pour batter in)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Put cupcake liners inside muffin pan. Sprinkle in some millet seeds in each cupcake liner so the batter just goes over it when ready.
3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside in a smaller bowl.
4. Combine bananas, sugar, vanilla extract, and oil in a large bowl.
5. Fold in flour mixture and mix until smooth. Mix in ground flax seeds.
6. Carefully fold in strawberries. Scoop into muffin pan.
7. Sprinkle tops with a bit of turbinado sugar.

Takes about 25-30 minutes.
Let it cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Week of Menus.

Drowning Girl (1963) by Roy Lichtenstein.

This list post comes a day late – yesterday was super busy for me. I was gone for the past four days and drove up yesterday starting at 6am so I now have a car in the city! I don’t want to use it too much until I have a job and then I can take some trips to explore Pennsylvania. I hadn’t driven from my parent’s house to Philly in such a long time so I was a little nervous but after passing Baltimore, I felt more like my old self. This got me to thinking about things that make me uncomfortable and scared. I realized there isn’t much that scares me – I’m a very hard person to frighten. The things that do scare me are things that would scare anyone (people breaking in while you are home, family and friends dying, etc) except when I think of that stuff, I can get really upset and worry. I’m more of a worrier than anything. This list was hard. I enjoyed the challenge even if a lot of it are things most people would fear.

1. snakes
2. centipedes (its how fast they move more than anything)
3. being lost in the middle of nowhere (and phone dies)
4. tiny room, lots of people squeezed in
5. speaking in front of a lot of people
6. singing in front of a lot of people
7. doing most things in front of a lot of people
8. drowning (i can’t swim)
9. natural disasters
10. bungee jumping
11. my debt: school loans
12. jello (how it moves and how it tastes, blech)
13. long airplane trips (especially over large bodies of water)
14. not being wanted by anyone
15. dying without someone I love nearby
16. something bad happening to my family and friends
17. something bad happening to the cats
18. my asthma
19. an army of Uggs
20. haunted houses (just kidding, I’d love to go to one actually)

Name: Ramsey Beyer | Shop
I create: illustrations, zines, flyers, and other freelance work on occasion like invitations, murals, cards, etc!

Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a 25-year old illustrator living in Chicago, IL. I make a zine called List which is in it’s 14th issue. I live in Logan Square with a craigslist roommate, and my dog, Rover. I’m vegan and straightedge, love to cook and maintain a garden. I ride my bike most places and am really into fitness. I like good design and keeping things nice and tidy. Organization keeps my head from exploding.

I grew up in Michigan on a vineyard with four siblings and two parents and lots of pets. When I was 18, I moved to Baltimore, MD to attend the Maryland Institute College of Art. In 2007, I graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Art in Experimental Animation. After graduating, I stayed in Baltimore for an additional year focusing on community arts, music, and playing with my little kid neighbors. I moved to Chicago two years ago. Here, I pursue freelance illustration and work by day as a nanny.

How did zine-making begin for you?
I’ve always been an over-sharer. I had a public diary (I think people call those blogs now?) on my Angelfire website when I was 12-17. So I guess making zines made sense as a natural outlet as I got older. I got my first zine when I was 14 when I went to a small ska show in Kalamazoo for the band Catch-22. The guy on the road with them was selling his zine for a dollar or two. At the time I didn’t know what a zine was, but he told me if I bought it it would help him buy a Pepsi, so I did. The zine was called Worthless and it was a photo essay about a homeless single mother in the punk scene in New Jersey. A few years later I read the book Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger which featured an arc about zines. That’s when I made the connection that the photo essay was, in fact, a zine. My freshman year of college, during the first week, I met my best friend who wrote a zine all throughout high school. He showed them to me and showed me other zines he had in his collection and I was hooked. I started making my first zine a few months later.

What are your daily activities like? Do you spend a lot of time on your work?
I’m a nanny full-time for 2 year olds, so I work most days from 7:30am to 5:30pm. Then I go to the Crossfit gym from 6 to 7:30 and get big! I come home, make dinner and shower, and then I usually work in my studio for the rest of the night from 9 to midnight. I generally just draw or work on a freelance project while watching bad tv on my computer. On the weekends I’ll use both mornings to wrap up freelance or commissioned work. When I’m in the middle of making a zine, which I only put out once a year, I’ll usually spend 3 to 4 hours on it every night for a month and a half. I sort of just marathon it. Each drawing takes me 2 or 3 hrs so it takes a long time to finish! I just wrapped up that marathon to finish List #14. So now I’m feeling a little lost with free time.

Tell us anything else you want to share!
I’m looking to move out of Chicago by next summer. I need recommendations for places to live! E-mail me with suggestions? I’m looking for a smaller city, on the east coast. Tell me why your city rules! everydaypants@gmail.com

All images are the property of Ramsey Beyer.

I am happy to announce a new category to this blog! I’ve been wanting to do this for several months but had no idea where to start until a few weeks ago. I want to introduce “Interviews” as the new category in the side bar (it will be up later today) where I will be featuring an artist once a month. This is open to all creative individuals: designers, illustrators, crafters, musicians, painters, knitters, etc. I just want to support other artists like myself who are trying to make it in this corporate and mass-produced world. Plus I happen to know a great amount of people (mostly friends) that are super talented and deserve a little recognition. This blog exists to document my work and my life, but ultimately, I want to be doing something that helps other people not just myself.

The first feature is a very talented person and a great inspiration for me. I am proud to say that because of her work and her lovely zine has been a big part of the motivation behind me starting my own zine. Her work was introduced to me by a mutual friend and since then, I have been hooked. I’m also excited about this feature because we both happen to share a lot of similar interests: straightedge, veganism (I am not, but really support friends who are), bikes, gardening, zines, and a few other things. I hope you will enjoy reading about her and her work when I put up the entry later today. We need to support each other! I am also already looking for my next feature in September – please contact me if you are interested in sharing a little about yourself and your work on my blog: karen@imisutoo.com

What is it?
Helicobacter pylori is a spiral shaped bacterium that lives in the stomach and duodenum (section of intestine just below stomach). Read more here. This thing has been inside my sister’s body for almost a year now and still no doctor has been able to cure her from it (there are cures for it, but the usual medicine for it has no effect on her and in most cases, makes the pain worse). I do not want to talk too much about my life or my family on here because I am usually a very private person. But coming home to visit and seeing how bad it has gotten from last time is breaking my heart. My mom, the strongest woman I know, who has cried only once in her life (in front of me) broke down tonight after the emergency ambulance came by. It is probably the hardest thing for me to watch because she is the one that always holds it together and tonight, the roles switched. Basically, this bacteria creates very severe stomach pains that make it hard for you to eat and once you do eat something, it feels like it goes away, but it actually comes back in stronger waves. There are also strong feelings of nausea and some fainting spells. My sister was thin to begin with, but with this infection, she has become so tiny and pale. She wishes nothing but to eat a whole meal and enjoy it but can’t because more than a few bites of something..it just feels like hell. It is a never-ending cycle.

So the reason I’m sharing this tonight is because it has been a rough night for everyone and I feel so helpless. I want to make it all go away so badly but I can’t. I want to know if anyone else has had experiences with this or know someone who has because the information would be of great help for my parents. We are at a loss here and countless tests and ER trips are solving nothing. Please send me an email if you know anything…it is the best thing I can think of doing right now. I remain positive and strong because I believe they will find the right medicine for her soon, but seeing first-hand how exhausted and helpless they are at 1am because my sister is sobbing in pain…it’s just hard to take in. Tomorrow will be better, I have a good feeling. I usually remain calm and positive, plus I’ve been reading so many online articles about this bacteria for several months now that I feel like I understand it. Knowledge is really power. I panic only if I don’t know what I am dealing with, so I read and I feel better. I also learned tonight that it seems a lot of the pain my sister feels is heightened by her fears and worries, so there is something psychological going on in addition to the infection. My mom says the doctor recommends getting her help for that while they try to solve the bigger problem. But like I said before, if anyone knows more about this infection, please email me: karen@imisutoo.com

Here is hoping the biopsy taken during the endoscopy from this past Thursday brings her a cure! I’ll be posting more positive things on here in the next few days so I appreciate those who read this entire post. I just needed to write about it, do something about it – do my part to help my family. Stay positive and enjoy your weekend!