Healed of impetigo

For the last 5 years I have been struggling with small sores that would develop around my nose. I had no clue what they were and really just tried to ignore them. My family didn't have health insurance to go to a dermatologist, so I just dealt with it. I had no clue what it was.

Here were the symptoms: A small red bump would appear and looked like a zit. I would mess with it, thinking it was a zit. Instead of puss, a clear/yellow liquid would come out. I would dry it up, but it would continue to leak and leak and leak until the liquid dried. When it dried, it formed a small scab. If I brushed my nose every so lightly, the scab would fall off. Then a much bigger scab would appear. Depending on how many times the scab was knocked off, the scab may continue to leak (or weep) until the scab was uneccesarily huge and noticeable. I would get a sore every few weeks or so, sometimes a few sores all at once. Once scabbed over, they took about 3 days to completely heal.

I should not have ignored them! I should have gone to the dermatologist right away to get rid of the bacteria (I later found out was impetigo). When I finally did go to the dermatologist, she told me what it was and prescribed me Monodox. I read rave reviews about it online and saw some good results with it. However, the good results soon disappeared as I began to get sores again. My dermatologist prescribed me another round of Monodox to "eliminate" the bacteria, but the bacteria seemed to become even stronger than before! I was then waking up everyday with a new sore somewhere on my face and even developed other kinds of sores I had never had before!

For those of you who don't know about antibiotics, which is what Monodox is, they kill all of the bacteria in your body. So the bad bacteria is dying, but also the good bacteria is dying that protects you from other diseases and helps your body function. My dermatologist wasn't happy with the Monodox results, so she put me on Bactrim- a much stronger antibiotic. This gave me even better results than Monodox, but again stopped working and seemed to strengthen the impetigo like before. At the end of the dosage, I got a yeast infection in my mouth! Ugh! Because the good bacteria in my body was gone, the yeast grew way out of proportion.

I was pretty fed up. I began taking acidophilus (sp?) everyday, a pill full of living, good bacteria. This eliminated my yeast infection! I cancelled my next appointment with the dermatologist, because I knew she would just put me on something stronger. Which mean I would get more infections! I decided to pray and ask God to heal me from impetigo sores. I had read in the Bible and heard a lot of stories about people being healed by God. So I decided to try it. It couldn't hurt to try! I looked up a few healing scriptures.

I read: "Exodus 23:25 Amplified Bible (AMP)
You shall serve the Lord your God; He shall bless your bread and water, and I will take sickness from your midst."

So I knew I had to first of all be serving God. That means living according to His will for my life and getting rid of the sin!

I also read: "Proverbs 4:20-23 Amplified Bible (AMP)
My son, (or daughter) attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings. Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh. Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life."

This one told me do what the Bible says. Keep the Word in front of your eyes and in your heart. So I wrote many healing scriptures on my mirror (with a dry erase marker) and read them everyday. I also prayed contantly about it to God. I bought Dodie Osteen's book Healed From Cacner and read it. It really encouraged me, because she was told she only had a few weeks to live. God healed her then and she is still alive today, 30 years later!

I also made sure I listened to worship music everyday and worshipped God for being so awesome, as well as thanked Him for healing me! The Bible says when Jesus died for our sins long ago, He also died for our sicknesses. He paid the price then for our healing, but we have to take ahold of that promise and receive all the He fought for us to have! I downloaded a podcast called "Healing Scriptures" by David Miller, a Pastor from Living Faith Christian Center that I just chanced upon- and am SO greatful he made that podcast! It is about 45 minutes of every scripture in the Bible that talks about healing. I listened to that in the car everyday and let it play while I fell asleep. I then decided to fast and pray for my healing. My sweet boyfriend and I fasted everything but fruit and veggies for one week. We prayed together everyday and thanked God for my healing! The sores started coming less and less. Some of them came but never leaked any fluid or made a scab. They just healed and went away.

We came off of the fast because we were going on vacation and really wanted to eat that week. When we came back, I fasted again by myself for 3 days. This time I only ate breakfast and drank coffee with no milk. If you don't know what the deal is with fasting or it's purpose, read some scriptures about it! It isn't useless, because before the 3 days were over the sores stopped coming.

Maybe you don't believe in God, or that He can heal. But there is no other explanation for my healing! I had these sore for FIVE YEARS with no break from it. I took medication after medication to no avail. But when I prayed and believed God for healing, I received it! All I can say is God is real and all of His promises are true! It's crazy to pray and believe and see nothing change and then all of a sudden, God shows up! He is incredible. He has the whole world to take care of and a million "important" people to care for, but yet He listened to me and healed me. That is an amazing God!

I hope this encourages you to go and get your healing if you need it!
God is a GOOD God and He wants you to be healthy and free!

Audrea

When two become one

I've been thinking about a cute logo for wedding invitations or something. Came up with this! Hope you enjoy. Click on it for a better view! - Audrea

New Doodles

I wish I could create more art than I do now. I really love drawing, painting and graphic design. I'm currently in school for it, though, so I don't have time to do the art I want to do. However, when I do have a spare moment, I bust out my sketch book and try to get creative. I'm still working on finding my style. I feel like I want to do so many different things and can never settle on a particular type. Anyhow, enjoy these. Hopefully there will be more to come!

Portfolio cover

Sadly, someone spilled paint on her hair once I finished...

Houston Thanksgiving Day Festivities

Thanksgiving Day is always a fast paced day for my family, but this year it was crazier than ever! The reason being that I now have a boyfriend and my oldest brother does, as well. Thus, we were driving around Houston to other homes for meals and social time.

In the morning, however, we all went to the Houston Thanksgiving Day Parade, downtown. Obviously, it is no where near as amazing as the Macy parade in NYC- but it's all we got.

Me, my little sister and my brother on Texas St.

Yes, there were fat gypsies.

50's Christmas Party - DIY Cookie Dough Dip, Doily Candles & Ornament Baskets

I recently threw a 50's Christmas Party for the Young Adult Worship team at Lakewood Church. I had a lot of great decorating ideas for it- but the party mixed with finals week was little much and a lot of my ideas fell through. Regardless, the party was a really fun time and the snacks were a hit!

I made a trillion cake balls. It took me 4 hours!!

Ahh, my pride and joy. Cookie Dough Dip! I found this on How Sweet It Is, where I find a lot of incredibly unique and delicious recipes.

Coldplay @ Austin City Limits 2011

Ahh, ACL 2011 was one of the best times of the year for me. Don't get me wrong! The crowds were terrible, it was hot while the sun was out & the 8 hour wait for a taxi was a little much. BUT, seeing Coldplay live was so worth it!

 My sweet boyfriend, William.

"Yellow" was one of the most memorable songs they did!

My boyfriend, brother, friends & I got there very early- wanting to see other bands we liked- but soon realized that with 60,000 people there we would have to fight to see them. So we found our spot for Coldplay around 6, as the show was to begin at 8. By 7, there was hardly room to breathe. We were squished tight, sweaty shoulder to sweaty shoulder with strangers. Boy, that was a blast. Especially when the foreign (not racist) strangers shouted things like "I'll fuck you in my house!" while Chris Martin sang, "I'll take you back to the start..." from the Scientist. Wow. They sure did ruin my favorite song for me. HA! (they were very drunk and high) But regardless, it was a fantastic time.

Jerri Moore

How cute is Jerri Moore? She's a Houston fashion designer who presented some her clothing at Fashion Houston 2011. Unfortunately, I didn't get to go. However, I LOVE her stuff!

Isn't she darlin? There's a lot of designer stuff that is hardly wearable. I mean, models could pull it off and some celebrities- but Jerri Moore's stuff is classy, elegant, and can be worn by any woman. I just adore her style!

Check out this video on Jerri Moore & how she got started, or look at her page for more info!

Tiny Boxwoods on West Alabama & Saint St.

I must say, I think Tiny Boxwoods is the best kept secret in Houston. Of course, I don't know all the secrets in Houston- because they're secrets- but for all the Houston secrets I know...this is the best one.

Tiny Boxwoods is a French-American restaurant in Houston, TX. The original tinybox is on West Alabama & Saint St, Highland Village area, which is the one I frequent most. It's attached to a nursery- filled with plants, flowers and a gazebo. The other location is called Tiny Boxwoods No. 5. It's located in West University on Rice Blvd. The cool thing about No. 5 is that it's in a West U neighborhood. They have a golf cart and will come pick you up from your house if you live in the hood! May I just say that they are both FABULOUS. The vibe and looks of them are so European. The menu changes with each meal and isn't necessarily the same from day-to-day.

My boyfriend & I go every Saturday for lunch. I'm not going to tell you the best time to go, because then you will make the line longer for us. HA! For lunch on Saturdays I get the Avocado Steak Salad, a glass of lemonade & a chocolate chip cookie. The chocolate chip cookies are DIVINE, made fresh continuously because they are so popular. My boyfriend gets the Buffalo Burger- which is also fantastic. I highly recommend them both.

If you're going for dinner, we like to get the French Picnic or Smoked Salmon for appetizer, the Margherita Pizza & the Parmesan Risotto with Shrimp. For dessert- oh my gosh. I can honestly say that I've never had a dessert so genius and so freaking tasty. The SMOKED Salted Caramel Cake with Pistacchio Ice Cream tops the charts for me. I've never had either of the two so I almost didn't get it. I keep my tastes in a box, sometimes. But I'm so glad I got this. I couldn't recommend a dessert any higher than this one.

 ALSO! The original Tiny Boxwoods has recently started a movie night on the lawn. For $60, a couple gets a bottle of wine, an appetizer, meals and desserts, as well as assorted pastries all night- while watching classic movies. I haven't been because I had to work the last time, but I SO want to go to the next one.

I want to be a street artist

My visual communications class instructor recently showed the class a video about French artist, JR's street art project that he did around the world. It was so inspiring and made me wish I could do more for the art world. Check out the video & also see some incredible examples of street art, including one of JR's murals. THEN, scroll all the way down to see some personal Houston street art favorites of mine.

this is one of the many murals by JR.

HOUSTON street art


I think it should be pretty easy for you to identify who the different murals are by. Daniel Anguilu (commonly known as Weah) is my absolute FAVORITE Houston street artist. His style is, not like mine at all, but similar to mine in that it involves a lot of intricate details and tedious work. I first saw his art while I was hanging with a Houston artist, Dandee Danao and he showed me something Weah was currently doing. Then I went to the Spring Mix 2 Art Show this past summer and saw some of his stuff on display- but STILL didn't get to meet him. The first picture below is what I snapped of his stuff at the art show. Anyway, I didn't do all of the research to find out who did all of these- I was just finding Houston stuff that I love, when I realized most of it was by Weah. The 5th photo below is a mural by him on a building that is really close to where I work. I pass it everyday on my way there and try to catch enough detail as possible. I want to go sit in front of it sometime and try to sketch it, just to become familiar with his style. I adore it! Check these out. I plan to do another post on my friend, Dandee Danao (commonly known as Dandee Warhol) and his art. I think you'll love it.

I want a baby just so I can dress it up...

These are adorable! I think the title of this post says it all for me.