Shamelessly stolen from Caroline!

A – August. The month of my birth! Clearly a favorite.

B – Ballet. I took ballet for a couple of years in college and fell in love. I’ve also attended a couple of performances at the New York City Ballet, and Erik even bought some ballet classes for my birthday one year. I’m too large right now to take ballet (there is a reason ballerinas are so thin…), but I hope to take some classes once I’m in better shape to perform.

C – Cats. I grew up with a cat and now I absolutely love having our cat, Natasha! I’m so glad Erik isn’t allergic to her!

D – Diners. This might be kind of strange, but I love diners! It’s such an East Coast thing, but they are everywhere here and they have such huge menus that you can literally get anything you want, at anytime. Even though most diners aren’t the classiest places, I still love them.

E – Erik. Obviously.

F – Friends. It took such a long time to really develop friendships once I moved out of Oregon that I have really come to appreciate the friends that I do have. They are absolutely the best.

G – Grandmothers. Who doesn’t love grandmothers? My maternal grandmother is the sweet old lady who is always giving you kisses, and my paternal grandmother is the globe-trotting grandmother with decades of opinions! They’re pretty much the best

H – HomeGoods. Some people are obsessed with IKEA. Me? I’m obsessed with HomeGoods. More than half our apartment has been furnished by that store.

I – Ice Cream. Ah, my weakness. I love it so much.

J – Jesus. As it says on my Facebook profile: Yay Jesus!

K – Knowledge. I definitely love learning (and teaching) or I wouldn’t be going back to school to become a diabetes educator!

L - Love. This doesn’t need much of an explanation, does it?

M – Movies. I once watched 101 movies in 1,001 days. I think that says it all.

N – New York City. I absolutely adore New York City and I feel so lucky that I not only got to live there, but that I have lived in the area for such a long time and have had the opportunity to experience so much of it. Many people dream of visiting NYC just once, and it’s something I get to do on a regular basis. I’m definitely blessed.

O – Oregon. My home state and my first love. Oregon is amazing, filled with great people, gorgeous scenery, and it’s so diverse and fun. If I could have one wish granted, I think it would be that Oregon and New York were right next to each other.

Crater Lake

P – Photography. I have no illusions of becoming a professional photographer, but I sure do have fun pretending!

Q – Questions. As a journalist, questions are innate. They are part of my existence and answering them is what I do.

R – Running. I never thought I would become a runner, but slowly I am getting there. It makes me very happy to finally have found a sport that I’m actually interested and passionate in. I never thought it would happen!

S – Sweet potatoes. I could eat these every freaking day.

T – Tattoos. I got my first one in August 2011. I definitely plan to get more, but not anytime soon. Still thinking about what I want to get!

The top says Faith in Hebrew, the bottom says Grace in Greek.

U – Urban living. Erik and I have already decided that we are definitely city people, and if we do move anywhere else, we need to live in — or at least near, like we do now — a large city. I can’t do rural. No way, no how.

V – Vacations. Vacations are the best and something I don’t really take very much. Sometimes we’ll travel for a weekend, but we don’t take very many extended vacations. Not that we have the money for them! Someday…

W – Weddings. I happen to love weddings. The dresses, the vows, the dessert. Seeing old friends, meeting new people. It’s just such a special, loving time. Mine was pretty awesome too.

X – training Totally stealing this from Caroline. X-training is so important! I’m trying to mix things up by doing more cycling, and I’m hoping to get into yoga at my local gym soon.

Y – Yogurt. Especially the frozen kind. With a dozen different toppings, like Oreos, M&Ms and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Here’s another Y: Yummmm.

Z – Zen. I think Zen is one of those things that really transcends religion and something that can be applied to anyone. That peacefulness and contentment is something I think everyone craves.