Nina Riano is not my real name. Nina is a family nickname (given to me by my oldest nephew) and Riano is a combination of the words “on air” spelled backwards. There is a story there that I will tell another time.

Nina is a person full of contradictions and second guesses. She has lived a life of almost and someday for most of her years. Nina is learning about herself and her beliefs beyond the influence of what others think she should be doing and how others think she should be living.

She is exploring what a life outside of almost would look like. Nina has allowed her comfort zone to dictate her decisions for too long. She has determined that she needs some clarity and balance amidst the chaos of ordinary and comfortable.

Nina is a wife, mother, pet lover and writer who dreams of visiting all fifty states and going camping in Nova Scotia. She enjoys collecting quirky things like crayons and miniature board game key chains.

Nina dreams of living in a warmer climate than Massachusetts in a farmhouse on the edge of a forest where the wind is an intermittent and dull breeze and the sun shines for twenty hours a day with a tall shade tree nearby.

Along for the ride are Nina’s two cats, Grace and Frankie, and her Yorkie, Buddy Edwin. Together these three make up the FBG  (Fur Baby Gang) who help Nina find focus and balance while running on Veranda blend coffee, motherhood, and any song with a beat.