CURRENT MISSION

We've discovered that the Journey IS the Destination, so we intend to ENJOY the journey, savor LIFE to the max, do our best to add more beauty to the world and live life on FIRE!

ABOUT ME

Greetings Fabulous Fellow Travelers!

Like you, John & I are wanting to do all we can to explore this magnificent world we live in and love the idea of meeting open-minded, positive, fun, intelligent, happy, evolved, creative and unique people along the path!

I was born in Southern Cali, but spent most of my childhood in New York where my mom & I frequented the Museums, art galleries (and shopping!) of NYC and was practically raised on Broadway, where I would go to see virtually every show that ran. Also spent most of my summer vacations in Walt Disney World in FL, so the philosophy of "When you wish upon a star", "If you can dream it, you can do it" and "Happily Ever After" were deeply ingrained in my psyche.

Grew up in an Italian Catholic dominant neighborhood, but always had a love and deep respect for people of all cultures, races, lifestyles and religious backgrounds. I was incredibly blessed to be in an environment where I could learn about multiple religions, philosophies and ideas and then choose what felt right to me - a rare and wonderful opportunity indeed! Always loved music, theater, dance, reading/writing, art, and intelligent, evolved ways of thinking and being - and getting to do what I love for a living, live in the paradise that IS Florida and share this journey with my soul mate is a greater gift to me than I could possibly articulate!

As for John, he was born in Louisiana, spend his young childhood years in Edison, NJ then through a series of events bounced back and forth to this area of Florida most of his life with some brief stints in Texas and North Carolina. He is another old soul with a young spirit who always managed to find his way and keep a light heart even through two other marriages and helping to raise 4 children. When we became buds before we started "dating" (long story!) over the course of 2 years I discovered that he too believed in "Happily ever after", was deeply intelligent, was spiritually open minded and also shared a passion for music & travel!

We've known each other for over 19 years now (been married going on 16 years) and have since started doing all we can to paint the globe red and come home to our two feline children, "Music" and "Magic" in between adventures! In the time we've know each other we've seen some beautiful US spaces and places including, beautiful New England, Asheville, NC (fall foliage to DIE for!), Redwood National & State Parks, Sequoia National Park, fab historic cities including, Savannah, GA, Charleston, SC, Washington, DC, Roanoke, VA, much of the American Southwest including Santa Fe and Taos, NM, Grand Canyon NP, an epic RV trip from Vegas to Valley of Fire SP, NV, Zion NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Red Canyon SP, Snow Canyon SP, and many trips to our "2nd home," Sedona, AZ. We've also done several cruises to the Caribbean & Mexico and have been blessed with three trips to Hawaii - one spanning Oahu, Kauai, Maui & the Big Island, our 2nd trip to seeing the REAL Oahu, based on the north shore and a dedicated trip to the Garden Isle (Kauai) in 2016. Truly a place to see before you die for sure! As you can see we've barely scratched the surface, so we're open to expanding our travel horizons as much as possible!

As for our professional identities, John is a computer programmer by day and musician (sax, flute, clarinet, harmonica, native flutes, etc.), mixing engineer/producer by night! I am an independent creative artist with MUSIC being the heart, soul and center behind all I do and create. I express music as a composer/singer-songwriter, performer, drum-circle facilitator (LOVE my drums, drums drums!!), dance-fitness instructor, love the spoken and written word (author, speaker, online course creator & contributor for an online magazine), and deeply enjoy getting to be a catalyst for fun & happiness. I recently found myself reaching for a paint brush and find so much joy in the process of getting colors on a canvas too :). To get more insight on our world you can visit our sites:
http://terezfirewoman.com/
http://allowingtruelove.com/
http://thecreativityexpress.com/
https://www.meetup.com/lawofattraction-335/
http://www.facebook.com/people/Terez-Hartmann/1528538630

PHILOSOPHY

The Journey really IS the destination and when you savor LIFE, it's delicious!

Find every reason to find adventure in your own back yard and more bigger adventures will come your way!

The more you love your NOW, the more you will love what's next.

Focus on beauty and watch your scenery change.

When you allow yourself to be authentic, do what you love, and live life on fire, it is then that you can be of the greatest service to mankind.

We aspire to truly live life on fire, follow the music in our souls, ignite and infuse fun into every day, and do our best to share as much joy and happiness as we can along the way!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

We think this program is outstanding! It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that we become a part of the "couch-surfing" family! After hearing about CS from my sister-from-another-mother and popping on the site to read about many of YOU, we decided this would be a great way for us to travel, learn FAR more about our chosen destination through the eyes of a local, make new friends and expand our cultural horizons by meeting fascinating people from all over the world! Even when our "couch" (which, by the way is a totally private bedroom with adjoining bath) is not available we'd be more than happy when possible to meet you for coffee or a drink and share what I know about our beautiful slice of paradise, parks & beaches, cute little towns, dining, night life & live music venues, even alternative venues/events for our GLBT friends, etc - just let me know what your areas of interest are and I'm sure I can point you in some great directions!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

We got to do an amazing road trip from FL to AZ and back in 2011 and SO enjoyed our CS experiences & hosts in Mobile, AL and Santa Fe, NM (If you're thinking about a trip to Santa Fe, Art has a phenomenal set-up, is a brilliant musician & artist and a phenomenal host & tour guide!) We also did a quick trip up to VA and had a lovely hostess in SC and met a sweet couple with visions for creating a hostel in Roanoke, VA. We were stunned and thrilled by the level of trust and true hospitality within the CS community and highly recommend Couchsurfing! One word of advice: If you are particular about privacy, like having your own bathroom, or like certain creature comforts that really matter, don't be afraid to ask your potential host about these things to ensure it will be good fit for both of you. Every host we've met so far has been extremely warm, friendly, honest and more than willing to answer any question we've asked of them, so don't be shy :)!

Interests

LOVE travel!! LOVE all thoughts, ideas, books, words, music and experiences that center around living in the present moment, "Allowing" the flow of life (rather than fighting up hill in the snow with alligators chasing you...) and celebrating! LOVE hiking (but have to admit at the end of the day also love coming home to a nice comfy bed, air conditioning or heat, hot water, etc!), LOVE all-things MUSIC - writing, arranging, playing, singing, producing, promoting and appreciating ALL forms of great music. I (Terez) LOVE to dance to just about anything! LOVE tastings of EVERY kind - especially craft beer, cider, mead & wine. LOVE being outdoors whenever possible - dining at outdoor cafes or dancing on the beach in open-air environments under the stars - ah! LOVE star-gazing whenever possible. I (Terez) LOVE banging on my drums, a nice piano or my keyboard and dig playing guitar. John LOVES playing alto & tenor sax, harmonica, flute, clarinet, native flute, keys & more. LOVE nature, animals and all that they can teach us. LOVE photography. LOVE playing with photo editing and graphic art. LOVE playing with color via paint. LOVE great coffee & supporting fun, fab local coffee shops! LOVE the theater and going to art galleries & shows! Have to admit it - we both kind of hate small talk - but LOVE great conversations that get into fascinating subjects & ideas. LOVE inspiring, adventure or funny movies! LOVE road trips! LOVE being on a plane! LOVE boating & sailing (as a lazy passenger !)LOVE comedy and laughing and being around people who are FUN! LOVE kayaking! LOVE all-thing Hawaii and Hawaiian and like to think I live the "Aloha" spirit! LOVE Sedona, Red Rocks & the Southwest. LOVE being in the mountains! Just discovered "Geocaching" - definitely seems like fun! LOVE finding out about the history of a place and reading historical markers. LOVE discovering even more things to LOVE!

• animals
• cats
• arts
• writing
• books
• singing
• theater
• performing arts
• design
• photography
• beauty
• dancing
• environment
• dining
• wine
• beer
• coffee
• wine tasting
• walking
• boating
• shopping
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• painting
• magic
• music
• live music
• guitar
• piano
• drums
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• kayaking
• sailing
• engineering
• history
• religion
• software
• road trips
• historic sites
• beaches
• parks
• mountains
• craft beer
• local history
• food tasting
• tasting
• arts and crafts
• achitecture

Music, Movies, and Books

SOOO many -wow:

Movies: Practical Magic, Conversations with God, Avatar, the Harry Potter series, Cool Runnings, The Wedding Singer, Under the Tuscan Sun, Chocolate, James Bond movies (especially the newer ones), National Treasure Series, Tomorrowland, Now Your See Me 1 & 2, (brilliant films!), Wonder Woman, Moana, ALL Star Wars films, Star Trek films (especially the new ones!)

Music: INFINTE!!! Love virtually all genres of music (save for anything really violent, disturbing or depressing) Sting, John Legend, India Arie, Sedona-based finger-style guitar maestro Anthony Mazzella, Train, Santana, Alanis, Seal, Bob Marley, Imagine Dragons, Pitbull, Shakira, One Republic, Jimmy Buffett, Madonna, Indigo Girls, Loreena Mckennitt, Kenny Loggins, Sade, Creed, "Hair Bands", Jethro Tull, Billy Joel, Elton John, Alicia Keys, Indie Artists, Black-Eyed Peas, Bhangra & Bollywood music from India, Van Morrison, Chicago, Styx, Middle-Eastern music (esp love Tarkan, Hadise, Douzi), Earth, Wind and Fire, Celtic Music, James Asher & percussion-oriented music, world-beat, trippy, new age, dubstep and trapp, country artists like Keith Urban, Shania Twain, Brad Paisley (brilliant songwriter!), Rascal Flatts, Little Big Town, Lady Antebellum, classic rock, southern rock, old school funk & soul, jazz, classical, hard rock, Latin, hip-hop & R & B, Blues, the beauty of silence...

Books: Ask and It is Given & anything by Abraham-Hicks, The Power of Now, Johnathan Livingston Seagull, Illusions, Og Mandino books, The Celestine Prophecy Series, Zen 24/7, The Four Agreements, DaVinci Code, Goddess Never Age, about 80,000,000,000 titles!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Sorry, can't pick one...

-Epic RV trip from Las Vegas through Utah and driving scenic hwy 15, being surrounded by soaring canyon walls while listening to "Land of Make Believe" by Chuck Mangione. We still get teary-eyed every time we hear that song!

-Getting to see totality of the solar eclipse in SC in 2017!

-Climbed Bell Rock & Cathedral Rock in Sedona when I (Terez) went on a solo trip & went hiking for the first time. Found out I had hiked over 22 miles one day without even knowing it (was told later that Bell Rock supercharged me!)

-Seeing the painted desert on our way up to the Grand Canyon for the first time!

-Got to lay down and look up at a grove of massive redwood trees and had more than one hike where John & I were the only ones there - wow!

-Magical hummingbird stories and snow-white-like animal encounters!

-(Terez) Got to perform at/for: Disney for black history month at what used to be club BET (pretty cool for a little redheaded girl!), gigs at Universal Studios, Coca Cola/Superbowl XXXV and play with Nils Lofgren (E-Street Band member & guitarist hall-of-famer)for John Madden's retirement party in 2009

-Composed the score for a musical that ran in Tampa, FL two years in a row - what an experience!

-Crossing paths with "strangers" on a hiking trail, at a craft beer tasting, or even a grocery store where either of us shared something as simple as a sincere complement, or some neat idea or insight that seemed to really light either one of us up! Being on the giving or the receiving end of this is truly one of the great pleasures of life!

Teach, Learn, Share

For starters, discovering a life of "Allowing" success (LETTING it happen rather than MAKING it happen yet having the courage to follow the flow of inspired action)and remembering that every human being is the Creator of her/his own life experience is when life becomes truly magical! It is also important to note that however you feel now will determine which way you are headed, so doing all you can to enjoy the journey NOW will lead to more great destinations! Always remember that YOU are BEAUTIFUL, POWERFUL and FABULOUS!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Happiness & fun, for sure! If it's a road trip and we can easily pack our instruments or we have a gig booked in the area, we'll bring the guitar & harmonicas, (play your piano/keyboard if you have one), bring a drum or two, and play for you. Can also host a drum circle, teach a dance/fitness class (bellydance, Bollywood, Bhangra, Latin, Burlesque-style, some hip-hop, jazz, etc.) , host a Law of Attraction-oriented discussion group or Meetup and/or answer questions, share what we've come to know about tasting & appreciating craft beer, cider, mead & wine, have some great conversations, laugh & giggle a lot, and always leave your space as clean & lovely (or better) than we found it, as we're home owners and know your home is your sanctuary & greatly respect that :) Lots of what we do (& links to other sites) can be found here: http://terezfirewoman.com/

Countries I’ve Visited

United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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