40 Things, Places and People I Love

Thank you, Jae and Michael, for including me in the fun of listing 40 things I love.
- Bentley, my 12lb little ball of mixed breeds: Dachshund, Chihuahua, Red Heeler, Akita, and a few other things we haven’t discovered.
- Writing, blogging, Publishous and PublishousNOW.
- Bentley.
- My husband.
- My daughters. If you knew what we went through to bring them into this world, you’d understand. There’s a decade worth of love and wanting them before they ever came into being.
- Bentley — Wonder why he keeps appearing on the list? Well, my daughter recently asked me: “Mommy, who do you love more, me or Bentley”? You can see Bentley ranks high on my list.
- Spain. I still want to live there. I would totally hike El Camino again, but my husband is a one Camino man, and the girls say “Cami-NO”, so I need some good company.
- Backpacking and living a simple life that allows us the ability to go most places quickly and with relative ease.
- Travel. There’s a lot of world to see and I want to see it. Let me get these kiddos into college and I’m outta here unless I can convince them to go with me sooner. My husband is ready to leave in a moment’s notice.
- Having an experience more than having stuff. For real, I don’t love dusting or collecting stuff for the sake of having stuff. Sign me up for an experience instead. Help fund the experience and keep the stuff.
- Walking Bentley. It’s our special time. We go on walks daily, except when it’s raining. Bentley doesn’t like to get his paws wet.
- Fuzzy socks. They are the next best thing to slippers.
- Cuddling. I need touch. Cuddling with the hubby, the kids, or the dog is one of my favorite things to do.
- Spending family time together.
- Red wine: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz.
- Charcuterie board. On occasion this goes well with number 15.
- Brewing kombucha. It is not for the faint of heart. If you can’t stand SCOBY then keep buying it at the store, but it’s a lot cheaper to brew your own.
- Cooking. Making sure the family has a good, healthy meal to eat.
- Dressing up. Gotta have a little black dress that can go in the backpack. Of course, it is synthetic or it would come out a wrinkled mess. Once in awhile a girl needs to dress up, but only when she’s not wearing…
- Yoga pants. My daily uniform more often than not is yoga pants. If I’m on a call I’m likely presentable from the waist up. I’m probably wearing yoga pants. Pretty sure someone will check on this for validation this week.
- Sunshine. Truly. It makes me happy. When it is cloudy and overcast or raining too many days in a row I find myself in a state of depression. I need sunshine. It’s my lifeline. I could never live in Seattle.
- Texas. I love this state. It’s a haven.
- Austin. We’ve lived here before, but this place is a little bit of heaven this side of Spain. We like keeping Austin weird. This also means I like
- BBQ, and …
- Boots. Boots can be worn with anything. A dress. Shorts. Anything. They are as comfortable as a second skin.
- Storytime. It’s a great excuse to cuddle and read. Learning something is good too.
- Reading, especially leadership and personal development books.
- Flowers.
- Hiding. I am an introvert. I tolerate the public when I have too, and that is all.
- Not using hairspray. There was a time I couldn’t stand not using it, but there’s freedom in natural beauty.
- Makeup. Seems strange, considering number 30, but I wear makeup for me. I also can’t wait to wash it off in the evening before changing from my yoga pants into jammies.
- My girlfriend calls with Cori-Leigh. I treasure this lady. We see each other as we really are, no pretenses. Sometimes, even with no makeup and in our jammies. Having a friend like this is essential.
- Chocolate. A piece of dark chocolate is like a glass of fine wine.
- Brussel sprouts. Not kidding, here. It’s one of my favorite vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, and avocados also top the list).
- Apple cider vinegar, not for the taste, but for it’s healing properties and versatility.
- Olive oil. The real stuff, not the fake kind.
- Tabasco. I love spicy food. Tabasco goes in just about everything. I haven’t figured out how to add it to Greek yogurt yet, but you get the idea.
- Exercise. It’s a must. It sets my world right. I have to take care of myself to be worth-while to anyone else. If I don’t exercise I’m worthless to everyone, including myself.
- Silly socks. They make me smile.
- Sleep, which is what I’m going to do now. See you later.
Really, what do you love?
Erika, Saleem, Teresa, Cori-Leigh, Kevin, George, Mr Cab Driver, Shayne, Trip, Jack, Jim, Ayodeji, Pat, Erika, Robin.