The big birthday gift reveal--And learn Boyfriend's true identity

Not long ago I was about to burst from keeping Boyfriend's birthday present a secret. Well, his birthday is tomorrow, and in a predictable fashion, I crumbled under the pressure and already gave him his gifts. This is good news for you, because now I can show you all what I've been dying to talk about for months.

A good friend of mine recently received portraits of herself and her boyfriend as a gift from her talented artist pal Rebecca Doss. I fell completely head over heels for the paintings, and decided to commission my very first artwork.

You might have guessed by the Merpanda ordeal, that I am fond of the sea people. Well, long before I was Merpanda, I was Mermanda. As in ... Amanda the mermaid... get it? Cute, no?

Boyfriend's name is Andrew. (Gasp! His identity is revealed!) And if you are following along at home, you may refer to us as our celeb couple name, Amandrew.

Stop me if this is getting confusing... Andrew's alter-ego is Mermandrew. Ok?

So, what is the point, you might ask yourself. With this sea-love-theme in my mind, I requested that Rebecca painted me in all my flopper-glory. I originally envisioned Andrew would also be portrayed as a mer-person. But, Rebecca approached me with the awesome idea of painting Andrew as a fisherman--about to reel me in to his boat. She requested many photos of us to make the paintings as true to life as possible.

I think she did a great job. And Andrew? He says its the best birthday gift he's ever received. Crap. How am I supposed to beat that next year?

Want to be immortalized too? You can contact Rebecca on her Web site, rebeccadoss.com for a quote. And I highly recommend that you do just that.