MEESH OF ALL TRADES

Meesh of all trades, master of none. That's me. 29 year old recent Indiana transplant, newlywed, cat lover, accidental runner, half-ass artist and comestibles connoisseur hobbling my way through 'adulthood'.

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I always forget how good being tan makes me feel until it's the end of winter and I sporadically jump back on the self-tanner train. One application last night and I feel all *Instababe.*

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I’ve discovered the key to marathon wedding drinking. Three words: white wine spritzer.

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I have to remind myself that I have a very very sad job and that I'm entitled to feel beaten down by all the tragedy occasionally. And that I can say "fuck it" to traditional coping skills sometimes, and instead cry for awhile in the brewery parking lot before I go in and have one (or three,) and order $100 worth of underwear and makeup on my phone.

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Cool cool cool. You wanna respond passive aggressively to my completely reasonable email? I gotcha right back, boo.

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My 26 year old friend wanted to go out tonight and when I asked her what time, she said, "How about 9? I know, it's early and kind of lame," at which point I laughed because I'm usually in my pajamas by now. Bonus: I also have to dress up because this is a Halloween party. Not too mad about what I threw together.

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Minneapolis, MN // Winter 2017

This was a comically bad trip. But on the bright side, I got some good photos.

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My first batch of kombucha is done. I did not think this shit would work, but it did, and it’s delicious.

I got into kombucha during Dryuary because, while sparkling cider or grape juice is good, the thing I was missing about beer is that funky, fermented taste. So I bought a couple bottles from the health food store and was immediately addicted. But at about ~$3 a pop, it’s actually cheaper to just drink alcohol. 

First I boiled about 16 cups of filtered water and added 10 tea bags. I opted for half green tea and half your basic, generic black tea. I then let the sugar the recipe called for dissolve into the mixture. I let the tea seep for about 30 minutes, and let the tea cool completely.

I ordered a scoby off of Amazon (which stands for Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast.) It was only about $8 and I’ve seen other sites sell them for $25. But I figured if it’s a dud and doesn’t work, whatever. I’m out $8. I just plopped that - along with the liquid it was vacuum sealed with and the tea - into this big jar container I had and covered it with a coffee filter and a rubber band. Then I let it sit on the top of my fridge covered with a dish towel for 10 days. I hear the longer you let it set, the funkier it’ll be. But there’ll also come a point where it gets too fermented, so they say not longer than 14 days I think.

I jarred it last night to do the second fermentation, so it gets a little more fizzy, like soda. I didn’t add any additional fruit juice to it because it’s my first run, but I’ll flavor future batches.

It’s a super easy process and anything with probiotics in it, I’m down for, because I have an awful gut. The scoby itself is really weird. It has the consistency of firm Gak and it has a “baby” every time you make a new batch. So you have to wind up cutting some off and throwing (or giving) some away with each new batch. Science is weird. 

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I’m in the Twin Cities for a few days and because it’s me, the FIRST thing I do is leave my keys in an Uber (sober.) Joe Cab Driver actually contacted me first saying I left an item in his car, but I didn’t see the message til hours later when my friend and I were getting back to her place and I needed to get all my stuff from my car. Oh, yeah, I don’t have access to any of my luggage either. So that’s nice.

TL;DR; I might be stuck in Minnesota for awhile.

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Dryuary Productivity

This was about changing my relationship with alcohol. And hopefully? maybe? it worked? It was a lot easier than I thought it would be, honestly. (And that's probably a good thing, right?) But anyway, here's something for me to look back on whenever I think a beer is the key to curing my boredom.

Books Read

Modern Love

Today Will Be Different

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

The Trespasser

Big Little Lies

(began) Financial Recovery: Developing a Healthy Relationship With Money

Exercise

Average of 12 hours per week. 

Rediscovered swimming and Zumba. 

Made up 12 HIIT routines. 

Ran 10 or more miles per week.

Household Projects Completed

Filled Finn scratches and repainted kitchen door.

Heatgunned paint off other door, sanded and repainted, and entryway.

Fixed drywall Finn ruined, repainted, added new trim.

Added drywall to laundry room, painted, and added utility sink.

Creative Projects Completed

Macrame wall hanging

Two self-portrait projects plus editing.

Other photography projects plus editing.

New Recipes Tried

Lemon Scones

Horchata

Paleo Brownies

Shrimp Etoufee (w/cauliflower rice and regular rice)

Continuous Brew Kombucha

Unfamiliar Social Outings

Gym with coworker twice.

Women’s march with new acquaintances.

Food and justice seminar solo.

Progressive coffee caucus twice.

Familiar Social Outings

Four family game nights.

Three movie theater movies.

Two Tat runs.

Professional Stuff

Finished Art Therapy & Anxiety seminar.

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I think a severely lit b&w portrait will always be my favorite. #selfportraitproject #bwphoto

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Has anyone seen the badass logo for the Alternate National Parks movement? Someone let me know if you see a t-shirt come out before I do.

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I think I’m gonna apply for a research assistant/lab manager position. There’s this neuroscience study I found that’s studying the link between environment and depression/anxiety. And I’ve always been Team Environment versus Biology when it comes to depression/anxiety, so it sounds right up my alley.

The thing I’m struggling with is if this is going to be A Thing I Do every couple years. I’m not even really dissatisfied with my job, I just feel like I wanna do something else for awhile. But it worries me because, like, shouldn’t I not play with fire? Shouldn’t I stop flitting around from place to place? Have you ever talked to someone our age who’s been at their job for, like, five years and kind of envied them? That’s me. I’m worried that the nature of my personality is that I’ll never be able to sit still at a job.

[meesh-ofalltrades]

PSA for my fellow anxiety sufferers: this stuff will change your life.

It’s a magnesium supplement in drinkable powder form. I originally had it recommended to me by a coworker to help with sleep. The first time I drank the recommended max dose (2 teaspoons) without knowing it and it felt like I took a nice hit off a good joint.

Bonus: we women usually don’t get enough magnesium as it is, so ingesting extra can help with cramps and muscle and body aches in general. It’s also good for keeping pooping regular.

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23 days into Dryuary and I wanna stab people and buy unnecessary shit. But I hear the 3 Week Itch is a real thing.

(I'm halfway kidding. I actually feel pretty damn good and my reward response has come back significantly, it's kind of awesome.)

[meesh-ofalltrades]

March photos from the ‘ol DSLR. Just a small bunch, but there like 100 that I’m in love with.

I didn’t find out until later that technically the march was cancelled because there wasn’t enough room for us to march. Pretty awesome if you ask me.

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Cold or no cold, I wouldn't miss this for the world. Stay safe out there ladies, and give 'em hell. #womensmarchchicago #womensmarch

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SERENITY NOW