ABCs of Gratitude

As part of Le Projet de Gratitude, I wanted to pull together my list of ABCs of things I am grateful for. Here it is!

Art. I love design, cartoons, drawings and the idea that artists create something from nothing and share it with everyone.
Books. Cookbooks, short stories, literature, graphic novels, memoirs. I am a fiend on Amazon Primo.
Convenience. I freaking loooooove convenience. That's why I have to live near a grocery store and preferably more than one. And a coffee place. And any place to buy magazines.
Dogs. I have two names for my two hypothetical dogs - Gemma and Ozzie. I came up with this recently upon having an impulsive dog moment until I realized (again) that the responsibility associated with dogs is not possible in my current life. And also dogs are like furry children and need lots of attention and caring.
Emily. Duh! This is my sister or as I call her, sees. She gets her own letter because we are twins.
Family and Friends. My rocks, my strength, my happiness. I can imagine my life without a lot of things but friends and fam aren't on that list. Like my bro and my mom. Hi guys!
Gifts. I save loads of things I spy online for gift ideas. I love giving gifts. Which is ironic because I am really terrible at remembering birthdays.
Hammer. I just like saying that because it is my old nickname.
Iphone. Who cares about email when you can read the internet (and gossip. and news. and friend updates) on your phone ALL THE TIME. PLUS MUSIC. Life without my iphone is like living in the ice age.
Jobs. I actually love what I do. I know, I know. Vom, I'm one of those people. And when I was at the 'hoo I loved it. Even when I was working for the Man (Uncle JP) in NYC, I still loved what i did. My career is a big part of what drives my overall motivation. I'm so lucky to have had such good experiences with all my past jobs - travel, skills, amazing colleagues, everything.
Karma. It totally exists.
Lists. CAN YOU TELL. I LOVE LISTS. LOVE. LOVE LOVE LOVE. Lists of lists. I make lists of things I love too. And things I want to buy, places to go, people to write to, books I want to read.
Markets. Geek out: I really love grocery stores, farmers markets and other places where there are tons of things to look at and touch and as a bonus, if there's stuff to eat. Some dork out there is also probably saying oh there are lots of other types of markets. Fine, you nerd - I like capital markets too.
New York. My first love! Living there was my first dream come true, since I was little. Also it is the only place where you can get real pizza.
Ocean. Sand, water, waves, peace. No better place for a glass of wine and a nap then right by the ocean. The beach is like a little slice of heaven.
Passport. I love to travel and my passport (even the one with my nasty photo from college) is evidence of where I've been. I'm not a big souvenir buyer but my passport always has captures memories of my trips.
Quiet. I look forward to my Sundays where I spend my quiet time doing whatever I want to do and relaxing and trying not to plan too many other things to do. Perfect me time.
Running. I am not good at running or sports in general. I was raised playing the violin, drawing and studying math and science - all of which point to asian nerd and not to all american athlete. But having moved to the 'burbs I've found that running has been my saving grace escape - perfect for zoning out, thinking deep thoughts. And the endorphins don't suck either. (that is a quote from a movie)
Shopping. Bitch, please. I love shopping. Not that it is my life dream to shop all the time and have unlimited funds for lots of nice material things. But you better believe I am totally proud of those pillows I found for $20 at anthropologie. Hell yeah!
Tiny Prints. Paid placement. Kidding! See "J."
Up. My favorite movie of this year- a beautifully drawn/animated, heartwarming story. I was hiding under your porch - because I love you. I adore Pixar films and I cry during all of them.
Virginia. Shout out to my peeps. Couldn't imagine growing up anywhere else, attending my nerd high school and eating VA ham like it was normal meat.
Wine. Even despite the occasional allergic reaction, I love having a glass with great friends. There is no better therapy or way to unwind.
XOXO. Because who doesn't love that.
Yummy stuff. I love to eat and just realized with all these letters I barely have mentioned food. My list of fave foods is huge but currently I love dumplings, snap peas, nectarines, eggplant, anything baked that has a lot of cinnamon in it and miso glazed meat.
Zoos. Ok so some people don't like zoos because they cage up animals in artificial habitats. But you know what? The real habitats are disappearing and zoos are educational. Plus are you going to go out into the snowy mountains of China to find a panda? I think not.