avatarNicole Akers

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40 Things, Places and People I Love

Thank you, Jae and Michael, for including me in the fun of listing 40 things I love.

  1. Bentley, my 12lb little ball of mixed breeds: Dachshund, Chihuahua, Red Heeler, Akita, and a few other things we haven’t discovered.
  2. Writing, blogging, Publishous and PublishousNOW.
  3. Bentley.
  4. My husband.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Backpacking and living a simple life that allows us the ability to go most places quickly and with relative ease.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. Fuzzy socks. They are the next best thing to slippers.
  13. Cuddling. I need touch. Cuddling with the hubby, the kids, or the dog is one of my favorite things to do.
  14. Spending family time together.
  15. Red wine: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz.
  16. Charcuterie board. On occasion this goes well with number 15.
  17. 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.
  18. Cooking. Making sure the family has a good, healthy meal to eat.
  19. 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…
  20. 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.
  21. 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.
  22. Texas. I love this state. It’s a haven.
  23. 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
  24. BBQ, and …
  25. Boots. Boots can be worn with anything. A dress. Shorts. Anything. They are as comfortable as a second skin.
  26. Storytime. It’s a great excuse to cuddle and read. Learning something is good too.
  27. Reading, especially leadership and personal development books.
  28. Flowers.
  29. Hiding. I am an introvert. I tolerate the public when I have too, and that is all.
  30. Not using hairspray. There was a time I couldn’t stand not using it, but there’s freedom in natural beauty.
  31. 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.
  32. 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.
  33. Chocolate. A piece of dark chocolate is like a glass of fine wine.
  34. Brussel sprouts. Not kidding, here. It’s one of my favorite vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, and avocados also top the list).
  35. Apple cider vinegar, not for the taste, but for it’s healing properties and versatility.
  36. Olive oil. The real stuff, not the fake kind.
  37. 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.
  38. 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.
  39. Silly socks. They make me smile.
  40. Sleep, which is what I’m going to do now. See you later.

Hope I don’t bore you.

Really, what do you love?

Erika, Saleem, Teresa, Cori-Leigh, Kevin, George, Mr Cab Driver, Shayne, Trip, Jack, Jim, Ayodeji, Pat, Erika, Robin.

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