Monday, December 29, 2014

Suprising Friends


As soon as I finished Farrah's drawing, I jumped on my computer and sent her younger sister a Facebook message:

'Hi 'A'! I drew Farrah a little something for the Holidays and I wanted to surprise her by leaving the gift on your front porch this evening and let her discover it. I was hoping you could help me accomplish this by authorizing me at the security gate once I get to your neighborhood on Christmas Eve, so I can swing by your house and drop off the gift. Thanks!' Her sister instantly replied back saying she was game to help me out!

I wrote Farrah a note with every inside joke that I could think of since 2nd grade, taped it to the glass of the frame and wrapped it up. She is one of the funniest human beings I've ever met in my life, so I purposely drew the silliest photo I could find that would reflect her sense of humor...along with one of her favorite quotes.

Check out the entrance to her neighborhood.



After I snuck the gift next to her front door like a professional ninja, I jumped in my car and anxiously awaited a response.

...Six hours later my phone started vibrating while in church and I was greeted by the best text ever...


 
I think she likes it :)

Than a few minutes later, Farrah's sister sends me a FB message, 'I got her on video!' I am forever thankful to her sister for capturing such a special moment for me. Not only did she film it without me even asking, but she did a damn good job at acting haha


This video was the absolute highlight of my Christmas. I've watched it about 50 times already. I can't wait to find a guy that I can love as much as I do my closest friends.

Take care guys.

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Homemade Christmas Gifts

I finished the drawings for my friends! I felt like I was back in college, working under a deadline and staying up till the weee hours of the night, but I got it done.

I was a little apprehensive that I wouldn't pull it off while I wrote this post but I couldn't disappoint my friends! Love these ladies:

Anita: 10 year friendship

Angela: 5 year friendship

Patty: 14 year friendship

Sabina: 14 year friendship

Rachel: 10 year friendship

Michelle: 7 year friendship

Farrah: 15 year friendship
 
One thing I'm realizing is that as I get older, my Christmas lists get smaller and I find out that the things I really want can't be bought. I wish you all a very happy holiday and Merry Christmas!
 
Btw, if you enjoy my artwork, visit my website at www.jeremymannino.com for many more! I'll be posting all these drawings within the next few days.


Sunday, December 21, 2014

Norman Reedus is Dating My Best Friend!

Thursday was such a WONDERFUL day filled with giddy excitement!!

I was FINALLY reunited with my best friend Michelle after six months of being apart! She just returned from a life changing WWOOFing trip to Utah, Colorado, California, Oregon, Washington and Canada.

Within fifteen minutes, we were back to our typical shenanigans.

 
There's so many snowbirds in South Florida this time of year so we shot them.

Just kiddinggggg. But some of the elderly people could use a nice pop for their disgraceful diving skills.

We were in my backyard doing a 'badass' themed photo shoot. I didn't tell her any other information, besides to look badass. I was photographing Mich for the drawing I'm giving her for Christmas, inspired by one of her favorite shows, the Walking Dead.

She wants Norman Reedus' babies, so I'm gonna rock her world and draw them together wielding their weapons. As you can see, she's killed a lot of zombies in her time, look at that perfect form and the way she's caressing the gun between her middle and ring finger. haha


Monday, December 15, 2014

2015 New Year's Resolutions

Here are my top ten 2015 New Year's Resolutions:

1. Blog more consistently. The past two years I haven't been writing as much and I want to use my blog as accountability to achieve all my goals and inspire you at the same time! There will be much more of me this upcoming year...whether you like it or not haha

2. My most determined resolution is to get my body in shape. I just ordered a 12 lb. bag of mass gainer protein powder to bulk up. I've always been a 'hard gainer' and I've plateaued at around 150 pounds for the last year. I have an ectomorph body type, meaning I'm naturally thin with a high metabolism, so an achievable and healthy goal weight for me is 168 pounds. Here's a picture of what I'm going after:

 
cant. stop. staringggggg. you need help taking those boxer briefs off?

3. Create double the amount of artwork I did in 2014 (70 drawings --> 140 drawings) & make double the amount of money.

4. Experiment more in the kitchen! I'm going to be documenting all my vegan dishes and desserts for you guys! I switched to this lifestyle almost 14 months ago and I feel wonderful!

5. Get my Passport. Something long overdue.

6. Go WWOOFing in Hawaii with my best friend Michelle for a few months...something I would like to turn into a yearly tradition with her.

7. Master the one-handed handstand yoga pose. My goal is to master FIVE advanced yoga poses. That's totally doable.

8. Read the Bible from cover to cover.

9. Go on my first CRUISE!!!

10. Find a cool boyfriend and lose my virginity.

Now I want to hear your Resolutions so we can keep each other accountable and achieve our dreams together!

Much Love Guys. :)

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

HOLIDAY STRESS

So many drawings to finish in so little time! I love making home made gifts because they're more meaningful, but now I'm freaking out that I won't finish them all. I started these drawings the day after Halloween in my free time and on top of finishing these, I still have about five I haven't even started yet. Haha

Panic Mode: Activated







Monday, December 8, 2014

I MADE OUT WITH A SEXY DENTIST

After three years I finally went to a gay club again!

My first gay club experience was so much fun, especially since we pre-gammed and got drunk off Malibu in the dorms and had a designated DD. I was pretty nervous that night, not knowing what to expect, but it ended up being a blast. I didn't really mingle with any guys because we were all drunk and dancing for most of the night but that was exactly what I needed at the time, just to observe.

However, this experience was more exciting.

My single, gay cousin was in town for a few days so we went to Wilton Manors, the land of gays. We intended on going to The Manor, but we got there about 30 minutes before the club even opened up. We stopped by a wine and tapas café (the one that featured my work in the past), followed by a candy store, than the sex store and back to the car to drop off the candy.


On our way BACK to The Manor, we passed a pub called the Village Pub, which was popping! There were so many guys in there, that both the entrances were blocked with people to get in.  We sandwiched our way through the swarm of men. That sentence sounded way more enjoyable than it actually was. With a bar on both ends of the pub, we made our way to the center, accompanied by a dance floor and sweaty bodies....with rows of onlookers behind us.

I got approached by a guy after a few minutes, so my cousin and I mingled with he and his two buddies. They were cool guys, all in their late twenties and in town for the Thanksgiving holiday. The guy who approached me works for Sony in LA, the second one was a Law student in NY and the third friend was sucking lips with different guys throughout the night, so I didn't catch his story. About ten minutes later, I realized my cousin had disappeared from the circle, who left to play on his phone. As I was scanning the pub for him, about 6 or 7 dudes were just staring dead at me.

After about an hour and a half, the pub had basically cleared out, so we all walked down the street to the Manor. There was a drag show going on that night and we were fortunate enough to have caught the tail end of the last performance. I kid you not, this drag queen looked just like Beyoncé and she killed her performance!


Right after she got off stage, the strobe lights kicked in, the music started blaring even louder and the clothes started coming off. These two super jacked studs who must work out two times a day, six days a week, walked on stage in metallic speedos and sneakers. The crowd was squealing, it was ridiculous. You could see everything but I guess that's the point of having these dancers, to turn everyone on and get the testosterone levels as high as possible. One of them was super hot but I started imagining all the guys he's probably gone home with, which averted my attention. I started taking vidoes and sending them to Mich, who I WISH was there with me.

Than I got bear hugged from behind by some random guy but I was more focused on my group who was heading upstairs. We explored a section of the second floor, which had a lounge area and a bunch of cigarette smokers. Making our way back down stairs, some of the guys contemplated about leaving since it was about 2 AM at that time, but my cousin and I decided to head back in and finish exploring the remainder of the club.

And than things got interesting!

I started mingling with a 35 year old dentist named Eduardo who lives in Cancun and was here solely for black Friday shopping. haha so random. He was extremely handsome and only looked like he was 30. He had an amazing sense of humor, a sexy Spanish accent, a perfect smile and a nice body with rock hard pecs. After about twenty minutes of talking....no, more like fifteen, Eduardo started serenading me with that sexy accent, telling me how handsome I was. Haha I was horny and loving it. I saw my golden opportunity and went in for a kiss. Luckily, he was only about an inch taller than me so it wasn't too awkward. Our lips locked and we just started going at it. The sensation I felt as his beard caressed mine was amazing. ughh He kept his beard short and nicely trimmed, similar to mine, which I love on a guy.

We probably looked really romantic, like this:

 

During an intermission from our smooching, I looked up and realized we were standing in the middle of an open area with a few people enjoying the show, so we snuck to the dance floor for some more fun haha

Round two!

There may or may not have been some grabbing involved as he pushed me up against the staircase, but who knows, things got a bit fuzzy. haha What happens at the Manor stays at the Manor. I looked at my watch and realized it was 3:15 in the morning. I grabbed his face for one last kiss, exchanged numbers and left with my cousin.

On our walk back the car, I pulled my phone out and had three texts, one from each of the dudes I got numbers from that night, including Eduardo. He started sending me 'come back to my hotel' texts but I am not that type of person and I was my cousin's DD.

Once we got home, it was about 3:45 in the morning. I get out the car and my neighbor started whistling at me to come over, who was hanging out on his driveway drinking with a few of his work friends. We had a few drinks, went inside and crawled in bed at 5AM.

Now I need to plan a trip to Cancun! Who wants to join me?!

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Premonition


This drawing of the recently deceased UVA student, Hannah Graham, was inspired from a dream I had about six weeks ago, shortly after she went missing. I had an OBE (out-of-body experience) and I was looking down on myself, from a bird's-eye perspective. I was sitting at an old wooden desk in an extremely bright room, drawing Hannah. I remembered seeing lettering in the drawing as well, along with a dove flying next to her.

When I woke up, I had goose bumps because I knew she had passed away. I couldn't recall what the text said, so after several failed attempts to find the perfect quote to fit this drawing, I came across a statement her parents later said in a news interview, after they had found her body. that I immediately knew was the one. I realized I couldn't remember what the text said in the dream, because that news interview hadn't happened in real life yet.

I know Hannah's spirit was present when I had that dream and I absolutely had to re-create the drawing she showed me. Thanks for the inspiration Hannah.

 
Rest in Peace girl and thanks for the vision. 

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

I Tried Liquid Pot!

My two homies Anita and Patty were in town two weeks ago. Anita's a super senior at UCF and Patty moved to upstate New York, to find herself. It's a rare occasion when the three of us are reunited, so we had to take advantage of the evening.

I met up with Anita, her boyfriend and her bf's friend at a bar in Mizner Park and spent the entire time reminiscing old times and laughing over drinks. Anita, Patty and I all drove to high school together our senior year and there were mornings where we were not in the mood to deal with all the bullshit that comes with being in high school...so we would get high, hit up McyD's for some hash browns and barely make it to first period on time.

On one occasion, a group of about 8 of us met up at a shopping plaza across the street from our high school to smoke. It was FCAT testing day for the Juniors and all the teachers/staff become neurotic during testing. The seniors are put in the gymnasium for several hours to just hangout. So we decided it would be way more fun to smoke together in Patty's truck (Big Red), behind the loading dock of a Publix.

After we finished smoking, we walked into Student Services to get our passes to the gym...trying to look and act as sober as possible. Anita has the funniest one liners and I'm one of those people who cant stop laughing once I start, so it was a bad combo in that situation. She's cracking jokes, I start laughing and before long we're causing a scene. The front desk lady wasn't amused, buzzed the Assistant Principle and took us back to his office.

That was such a buzz kill, I was terrified in that moment. The A.P. made us sit outside his office and than individually brought us in, questioning our whereabouts that morning. I couldn't even tell you what I said to that man, but he let us off the hook and sent us to the gym. haha

Another time the three of us got high before school, Anita and I decided it would be more fun to skip and go to our ceramic teacher's room and hang out with Rachel, who was in his first period class. He was such a cool teacher and let us skip into his class occasionally, because we were his favorite students. haha the perks of being artsy!

He clearly knew we were baked and quickly pulled us into his office and just stood there staring at us as we chuckled at him...just waiting for his response. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard in my life after he blurted out 'What is wrong with you too!?' Anita and I were howling. Rachel later told us that her entire class was watching and laughing along with us, so I'm happy we were able to provide that morning entertainment for them.



After laughing about our high school days, we left the bar and met up with Patty at a house party, which was filled with primarily music festival, hippy kids.

People were taking bong hits off the kitchen counter, a vaporizer was being passed around, most definitely some other drugs and than there was a mysterious bowl with brown liquid in it. I sat down at the kitchen table, which had a mound of crayons and computer paper on it and started doodling, until Anita walked over with the bowl of brown liquid in one hand, a pipette in the other, yelling "it's liquid pot, we have to try it!" haha

Since none of us had ever had liquid pot before, we were super hesitant at first and cautiously squeezed a few droplets into our mouths. One of the guys at the party warned us that it was pretty potent stuff, but we didn't feel anything so we went back for seconds...and thirds. I hadn't smoked in about four months prior to that night, so it hit me pretty hard. haha



The high kicked in but it was a total body high and we were all hysterically laughing the entire night. Such a fun night with beautiful people.





 
 
Much love guys!

Friday, November 28, 2014

My Slutty Halloween Costume

Hey guys!

I hope you're all doing well and had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

It's been a while, so I'll catch you up starting with Halloween.

Rewinddddddddd.

I literally had no idea what to be for Halloween this year. I walked into Party City the night before the holiday (never again) and the place was a complete frenzy. Apart of me was relieved that I wasn't the only one who procrastinated until the day before to find a costume. There was stuff thrown all over the floors. Kids were running around in masks screaming and smacking each other with plastic weapons. The employees legit looked like they wanted to kill themselves. Plus, all the costumes, of the ones that were left, either looked dumb, cheap or both.

Needless to say, I spent about 3 minutes in there and drove down the street to Michaels craft store. That place never fails me! As soon as I walked in, I was surrounded by Christmas decorations. Why stores start putting out Christmas décor before Halloween just baffles me and makes me so angry! No one is buying Christmas decorations in October so calm your tits.

However, this was the one exception I wasn't complaining, because those Christmas decorations came to my rescue and made up about 80% of my Halloween costume. There were gold decorations everywhere, so I made a split decision in that moment, as I was gazing at the wreaths and Christmas trees, to be a Greek Prince.

I grabbed a gold flower bouquet for my crown, ribbons, this weird gold material for my cuff links, gold fabric for my sash, a cotton sheet for the toga and some glue for the hot glue gun. Plus, this really cool chick that was working there helped me put it all together and it made my day when she told me that I was the most enjoyable costumer that she helped all day! I try to be fun and friendly with everyone! She was going as 'Elsa from Frozen, tattoos and all'. haha

I spent a whooping $19 and raced home to start cutting, sewing and gluing everything together. I even got my mom to help me sew part of my toga, which was really fun, because my mom and I never craft or do artsy stuff together.




The next evening (Halloween), I drove up to Delray Beach and met my friend April to get ready at her place. She went as a seductive demon and her costume turned out really cool! She had the horns in her hair with black roses and feathers, a sexy black dress and the coolest fake cat eye contacts that made the whole costume so dramatic.

We drove down to Los Olas with April's sister Vanessa, who dressed as a rainbow unicorn, and her two friends (a cat and Blane from Batman).


We hit up a bar/club called America's Backyard, had a few drinks, danced and than ran into Twisty and his blonde victim from American Horror Story!!


After about two hours we wandered down the street to people watch and check out all the costumes. The muscular, shirtless guys who all painted the Superman 'S' on their chest with matching Superman boxer briefs were among my favorites of the night, along with the dudes who were all dressed in slutty Disney princess costumes. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures with them. Boo. Pun intended.

Ran into my sister who was a sexy nerd for the second time...

 
 
We hung out with Monica and her friends for a bit and than fought through the massive sea of people back to the car around 3. Thanks for saving Halloween, Michaels.

I want to hear what you guys dressed up as for Halloween so write a comment down below!

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Happy Tears

I used to work at Tropical Smoothie and I wanted to share the message my manager sent me on Facebook:

Jeremy you just absolutely blow me away....who would have EVER thought that a former employee of mine at TSC would have such an incredible God given talent... just don't forget us little people when you are having a New York Showing to the Rich and Famous....because that is where you ARE headed...I get speechless sometimes looking at your artwork...breathtaking.

I got accepted into art school after college, I'm a good artist... but YOU are GIFTED Jer..... I mean DAMN... I could always draw everything....EXCEPT people, and you have this talent, gift...this perception of looking at people...and sketching them, and not just people, ANYTHING....you literally take my breath away looking at your art.

I wasted my talent and did nothing with it, but I just had talent, you have a without a doubt, the best God given talent I've ever seen Jer and I think you remember that I'm bluntly honest...and I would NOT be saying ANY of this if I didn't believe it, see it, shit, when you draw some things sometimes...I can feel it...It's unlike anything I've ever felt before... maybe it's because whenever I look at art, I obviously don't know the artist.. because lets be honest...I don't know anyone that can draw beyond bob marley as a stick figure smoking a fake joint with rainbows and unicorns in the background....so it must be because I know you...lol I miss you and PLEASE keep posting your art...I LOVE looking forward to buying one one day....if I can afford it lol Love ya and keep doing what you were intended to do, I'm so proud of you.

Day, made. And who knows, maybe I will have a New York showing one day! If I do, you're all invited!!

Much Love Guys.
 

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

SKETCHY GRINDR MEETUP

This is a judge-free zone. Haha

So, last night I put myself in a very precarious situation. I don't know what I was thinking, but I met up with a guy off Grindr, after only messaging back and forth for two hours. He wasn't even all that attractive, but he was really cool and seemed like an interesting person. I felt this urge to meet him and pick his brain. Plus, I've been feeling really lonely and I guess I kind of snapped and needed some adventure and excitement in my life. Something fun to tell my friends.

He was a few years older than me, lives in Orlando and in town for a friend's wedding. He told me all his friends went up to West Palm to party and he stayed behind at the hotel and invited me over. I sat in my room contemplating it for a while and finally accepted and drove to the hotel. I was so nervous when I pulled into the parking lot. He said he would be waiting outside of the lobby entrance, but I circled around the hotel several times and there was no one outside either of the entrances. I started getting a little sketched out.

After twenty minutes, I realized that I was at the WRONG HOTEL! haha I'm such an idiot. That should have been my warning from above, to just go home. I messaged him and he told me that I was taking too long and that he went back up to his room. I couldn't tell him I spent 20 minutes looking for him at the wrong hotel, so I made up a white lie and told him my friend had an emergency and I had to shoot over to her place real quick.

Once I drove across the street to the correct hotel, I sat in my car for ten minutes, just take make my story more believable. After five minutes, I sent him a message saying I was leaving my friends place and on my way over...and than after another five minutes, I messaged him again saying I had just arrived.

He sent me a message back with his hotel number, so I got out of my car, said a prayer and walked into the hotel lobby. I was so nervous that I walked right past the elevators and ended up at the other end of the lobby. I didn't want the desk clerk to think I was suspicious, so I walked into the bathroom and took a piss.

I causally walked back out into the lobby, retraced my steps and entered the elevator. As soon as they opened, I told myself I couldn't back out now as they closed behind me. That walk down the hallway felt like the longest walk of my life. His room was the last one on the left, across the hall from the stairwell. I knew incase anything went wrong, there was an emergency exit three feet away and I could get away. I stood in front of this hotel door, took a deep breath and knocked...

A few moments later the door opened and I immediately smelled pot. This guy was about 5' 9", 170lbs, tan, dark hair and looked like a mix between Spanish, Arab and Italian. His eyes were red and as soon as he said hi, I smelled pot on his breath. I was relieved knowing he was high, because that meant he would be harmless and it would make for an even more interesting conversation.

He must have been sharing the room with at least three other people because there was a lot of stuff in there, like bags, clothes, toiletries, etc. strewn around the room. Way more than one or two people would need for a weekend trip.

We walked over to the beds and he immediately jumped into the furthest one from the door, the one closest to the window. I didn't know what to do, so I sat down on the other bed. He laughed and asked me to come over to his bed, so I got up, took off my shoes and sat in the bed with him.

I immediately noticed that he was wearing two necklaces that caught my eye, so I asked him what they meant. One was a small dream catcher with little metal feathers dangling off the bottom and the other was two small angel wings. We started talking about dreams, dream journals, lucid dreaming, astral projection, the REM cycle and the symbolism behind dreams. It was really interesting.

Than he kissed me. He was really getting into it, but I wasn't feeling him like that, so I backed off after making out for 15 seconds and said "so what about the other necklace?" He sighed and took the hint I wasn't interested in hooking up with him.

Ironically enough, he didn't believe in angels, even though he had a necklace with angel wings on it. His friend gave him the necklace and calls him his Angel. I thought that was cute. Like so many people, he has a hard time believing in them because he's never had any sort of spiritual encounter. But I thought it was cool that he wears the Angel wings nonetheless.

I told him about the dream I had, which you can find here. I shared it with him to provide some food for thought. After we talked about angels, the conversation shifted to aliens and life beyond our solar system.

All of a sudden the door beeps and his two female friends, who were supposed to be in West Palm, open the door. They got about two feet in the door before they noticed I was there sitting in the bed and quickly shut the door. The guy jumped up and apologized to me, wondering why they were there and not out with their group. I knew that was cue to leave, so I hopped out of the bed, slipped my shoes on, told him I enjoyed the convo and walked out of the hotel. The girls were standing right there, so I made eye contact and smiled for a split second, before speed walking down the hallway.

What I learned from the experience is that I need to continue meeting gay guys, but in a safe way, in a public location. Not through Grindr, but through activities I enjoy, like a yoga class or a class I find on Groupon or LivingSocial.

My quintessential man would be cute, smart, funny, adventuresome, Christian, athletic, kind and a vegan! Taking applications now...

Much Love guys.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

FInding My Life Purpose

I cried the other day. I cried for the first time in a while. The last time I cried was over a year ago when I stood lifeless and terrified in my empty, childhood bedroom, the second night I moved back home from college. The realism that college was officially over came crashing into me all at once in that moment. I stared out my window and I felt so far away from my friends. Like we were worlds away. I felt numb. My forehead laid against the glass of the window and I cried and cried and cried, wishing that I could go back to college where I felt safe. Where I found myself and I felt alive.

Moving back into my parents house, jobless, with a Fine Arts degree, was absolutely horrifying for me. Especially since the majority of my friends had 'big boy/girl' jobs lined up or were preparing for graduate school. And the most embarrassing thing was when I started hearing the same question over and over again from friends, family and neighbors: "so what are you up to now?"

Truth be told, I didn't know. I didn't have a concrete answer to that question. I felt like an idiot, like I didn't succeed. But in so many ways I did succeed, in my own ways. I spent so many days after moving home, comparing and putting myself down for not being on the same level as my peers.

But what I do know, is that I could never work a typical 9-5 cubicle job. Drawing is my gift from the Universe and I knew I had to pursue it with all my heart.

I've prayed so much for guidance over the last year. It seemed like every time I got in the shower, a new drawing idea was miraculously pop into my head. I started writing messages to God through the steam on the shower doors, like written prayers.

With a lot of praying and some more self-acceptance, a year has passed since the night I broke down upon moving back home and I've drawn about 100 portraits.

The most recent portrait I did made me cry. This is the first drawing I've produced that has literally made me tear up. The meaning behind it is extraordinarily special to me. The drawing is a picture of my friend Kathleen, whom I've known my entire life and is a second sister to me. She lost her parents a year and a half ago. She lost her mother and her father on the same day. She was 26 and her brother was 24 when the tragedy happened. You can read about it here.

Kathleen got married two months ago and unfortunately, her parents weren't able to be there physically. So I drew she and her mother looking back at each other, referencing both pictures from their wedding day.

This time around, I cried happy tears. I cried because I finally feel like I'm on the right path and figuring out how to turn my passion into a career, while touching people's hearts at the same time. And that's what life is all about. 



If you'd like to see my other portraits, my website is http://www.jeremymannino.com/

Much Love guys.

Sunday, August 3, 2014

I DREAMT OF MY SECOND TATTOO

I know what I'm getting for my second tattoo! After getting my first tattoo two and a half years ago, I knew I would eventually get a second one. I felt no sense of urgency to get back under the needle though, that shit hurt! Rather, when the time was right, I would know what I wanted and where.
 
Well that time has come and this beautiful idea came to me in a dream I had about a month ago. I was outside, standing in an open field, with white rose petals scattered everywhere. Which is so ironic because the first tattoo I got was a rose. The petals were all over the grass, which were practically glowing from the sun. 

Off in the distance, there was a female with long, shiny blonde hair who was smiling at me. I felt an immense sense of comfort and serenity from her energy, but when I tried to walk towards her, she kept pointing at her wrist. After doing this a few times, I looked down at my own wrist and the word 'Pray' was tattooed onto it.

Than the dream ended. I don't remember looking back up at her or anything after that moment.

I woke up smiling though. Maybe that woman was an Angel who came to deliver that message? I don't know. Regardless of who that was, I like her and I hope she pops up in more of my dreams. haha Clearly subconscious wants me to pray more. I absolutely believe in the power of prayer and I'm excited to see what blessings manifest into my life as I increase my praying. This tattoo will be a constant reminder to have faith and to deepen my relationship with God. I can use all the faith I can get. :)

Much Love guys.

Friday, July 18, 2014

GYM STUD FANTASY

Why am I so fucking shy?

There's this guy I've been eyeing at my gym for months now who's a total stud. Yet the second we lock eyes, my stomach drops like I'm plummeting down a rollercoaster and I look away instantaneously. Why is it so hard for me to stare back at him and smile, spark up a conversation and become friends?

He's so beautiful: Tall, fit but not too muscular and has a baseball player's stature. I'm way too attracted to this guy. His presence alone makes me nervous.

Occasionally we finish lifting at the same time and end up next to each other in the stretch area doing abs and he always pushes me to keep up with him. He makes me feel giddy.

The fact that I get excited to go to the gym in hopes that I'll see him there, just reinforces I need to talk to this guy, regardless if he's gay or not. I'm sure he'd be a cool friend, considering we see each other about 5 nights a week.

Hopefully writing this down will give me some incentive to get over this issue and approach cute guys. But let's be real, the next time I see him, I'm going to have a mini heart attack instead.

Friday, July 11, 2014

I GOT A PJ

I got SO lucky!

I received a letter in the mail from Honda informing me that my car was eligible for a free paint job. FREE! Thank the Heavens because that's not cheap by any means and my car needed it, bad. The roof, sides and trunk were all pretty badly faded due to sun damage. Not cute.

Than to top it off, I just happened to ask about any other recalls they had and I got my broken sun visors replaced for free too! I should have bought a lotto ticket with all that good luck in the air. I was without a car for exactly a week but it was totally worth the wait because my whip looks brand spankin' new!

Well, except for the headlights, so I went on YouTube and discovered the most ingenious way to clean them. Toothpaste! It was so simple and works great.

Check it out:
 



Moral of this story: Buy a lottery ticket when you're having an awesome day and no one reading this should have dirty headlights now.


Monday, July 7, 2014

The 4th of JuLIE

How was everyone's 4th of July??

My sister and I went to a friend's block party which turned out to be a fun time. We rolled up in style wearing matching tank tops that we picked up at Target before the party. We looked pretty cool if I do say so myself.


The block party had a decent turnout, with about 40 people and a nice redneck vibe to it. I felt like I was back in Jacksonville at a frat party. There was corn hole, throw the Frisbee in the trashcan...which according to the internet is called kanjam, BBQ, people rocking beer drinking hats and overalls, a triple kegger and of course, the essential slip-n-slide.



Why yes, that is a keg on their neighbor's roof.

I figured the food options were going to be pretty slim for me, so I drank a fresh almond/pecan milkshake for protein and fat prior to the party and made a giant bowl of fresh fruit that I brought.


Luckily some storm clouds started rolling in later in the afternoon, which cooled things off a bit, because it was so stifling. Our friend Erika quoted it perfectly, "it's hotter than satan's ball sack out here!" Which I'd presume is pretty hot?


Luckily the storm only drizzled on us and once the sun had set, we watched their neighbor's $5,000 fire work show. Who wastes that much money on fireworks!? All for 90 minutes worth of entertainment. That's $55 going up in flames every minute. They were mesmerizing, but I couldn't help but think about the Independence so many people and animals don't have, even in America.

So many beautiful souls that will never experience the joy of freedom. Something that every creature should have the right to experience. It breaks my heart to know helpless, terrified animals are locked in cages; chained, tortured and killed in filthy slaughterhouses and factories. There is no celebration for these animals. For the animals who never see daylight. In pain, locked up like prisoners... in cages, abused, beaten helplessly awaiting death. No FREEDOM, no playing, no running, no laughing, no love. Just misery until they die and end up becoming the meat we squirt ketchup and mustard on, while we dress up in red, white and blue.

 
We have a choice we can make. The choice to choose cruelty free food. Eat foods that vibrate with vitamins and nutrients, a vegan diet. "My body will not be a tomb for other creatures." Da Vinci

In that moment as I stared up into the sky and watched $5000 worth of fireworks light up the world around me, I almost started crying.

On a lighter note, it was my mom's birthday on the 4th, so I surprised her with a drawing of Jesus.


The original painting is titled Prince of Peace by Akiane Kramarik and the story behind it is pretty cool. In a nutshell, there was a little boy who died and was later revived. When he awoke, he told his family he went to Heaven and met Jesus. His parents showed him various pictures of Jesus, but every time, their son would tell them that the photo doesn't look like him. It wasn't until his parents came across a painting that an eight-year-old prodigy named Akiane painted. This young girl paints based on visions she has from Heaven. When his parents showed their son a picture of the painting, the boy started screaming 'that's him!'

Let's make this world a better place. For every being. #GoVegan

Much Love.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

SO MUCH NEW ART!!


David Wolfe

Raw nutrition expert

You may recognize him from the NutriBullet infomercial! I became increasingly intrigued by David's work after seeing him on a food documentary called Food Matters that I watched in college. He was being interviewed in the film and started listing all these crazy super foods. I grabbed a notepad and in that moment, my world and knowledge of super foods began to expand.




Mandisa

Singer

My senior year of college I had 9 AM class Monday-Friday. Since the Christian station is one of very few stations to play music that early, I would listen to Craig, Amy and Kankelfritz on my commute. They played the SAME song EVERY single day. Eventually it grew on me to the point where I would wait for them to play it and it always made me dance in my car.





 Desirée Venn Frederic

Vlogger

One night while drawing, I was on YouTube listening to Spirit Science videos, when I stumbled onto Desirée's channel, xoDVF. She has a bunch of cool natural remedy videos for health and beauty, but it was her spiritual awakening videos that grabbed my attention. She's so beautifully articulate and I just love listening to people's spiritual testimonials. I learn just as much from people's personal spiritual experiences as I do from my own. I felt really drawn to her and felt the desire to draw her.






Remmy

I received an email about a month ago from a woman who wanted me to draw her recently deceased Great Dane. He passed away at only five months old due to a heart condition. :( Here's where it gets special. She asked me if it would be possible if I could incorporate Remmy's ashes into the watercolor, so a piece of him would be in the drawing. How could I say no? I thought it was an awesome idea and sure enough, I received a small package in the mail a few days later with the ashes in a large pill bottle. When it came time to watercolor the background, I sprinkled some of his ashes into the paint, which gave the drawing a really interesting texture.  RIP Remmy



Maya Angelou


Maya, Maya, Maya. What a beautiful soul. My parents LOVE her and had the absolute privilege to hear her speak in January while she was here in Florida. I decided to draw her for my dad's birthday present, shortly after she had passed. I am so proud of how beautiful the drawing turned out. While I was working on this drawing, I repeatedly kept listening to short videos the OWN Network created of Maya talking about love, life, happiness, God, etc. She has such a way with words. I was left in tears. Take the time to listen to all of them.





Wedding Pictures







Shari

This drawing meant so much to me. My sister gave me the idea to draw our friend's mom for her birthday. She lost her parents a year ago and I knew this would be an extra special gift. It's a drawing of her mom on her wedding day. My friend got married two weekends ago, the week after her birthday. At the wedding, the photographer took a picture of my friend specifically for me to reference, so I can draw her looking back at her mom. 



I love what I do. I am blessed to feel that I have found my calling at such a young age.
Much Love