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Today is a big holiday in the US; it’s a day when we take time off to celebrate all the things we’re thankful for. We get together with family, over-eat a traditional Thanksgiving Day meal, and then watch football until we pass out. It’s just about a perfect day.
I feel especially grateful for the many blessings I enjoy all year long, and I wanted to take a few minutes to share the things I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving Day. I believe counting your blessings is one of the best things a person can do (and that this list of 100 is only a start is a real blessing to me for sure).
I’m thankful….
- for Baker Mayfield and for the Bucs giving him the big contract he deserves.
2. that my wife found the Netflix romantic comedy series, “Nobody Wants This.” It’s so good – we cannot wait for Season Two.
3. for all the time’s Larry Becker brings me some great new Keto food he’s found, like Quest’s Blueberry Bake Shop Muffins. Only 3 Net Carbs per muffin. Larry is the low-carb king!
4. for the “beware of dogs” signs on our fence that keep people from being eaten by our very protective doggos.
5. that my son and daughter-in-law live so close and pop in several times a week just to hang out. We are so lucky.
6. that Seinfeld reruns are on Netflix on demand. I love to have it on in the background while I’m editing photos.
7. that for Black Friday all the software plug-ins I use in my music production are on ridiculous discount sales – some as much as 80% off. I live for these deals!
8. that my daughter still cares that I bake my special “Christmas Cookies” each year when we put up the tree (and I’m grateful she thinks Pillsbury means ‘special’).
9. for Chicky Nando. I love that guy. Everybody does!
10. for the wonderful photographers that come to my workshops around the world. These are about the most fun things I get to do all year, and I’m so grateful for the friends I’ve made on them.
11. to the Hard Rock Casino in Tampa, whose Roulette Wheel paid for my new red Fender Telecaster. I’m not a gambler, but I was that day. LOL!!
12. for Eric Hathaway on our video team. He’s been here a few years now, and he fits the team like a glove, and I’m glad I get to work with him.
13. for the wonderful Christmas music already playing in our house all day.
14. that my wife makes me a completely separate dinner at Thanksgiving every year since she knows I don’t like Turkey, stuffing, or pretty much any of the traditional Thanksgiving foods.
15. that KFC has a pretty incredible spicy Chicken Sandwich, and there’s a fairly new KFC near me (for those non-Keto moments).
16. for all the cool stuff they keep adding to Photoshop.
17. that I get to work at home most days, and when I do go in, I get to work with the most awesome people.
18. for how wonderful my daughter-in-law treats my son. They’ve been married a few years now, but they treat each other like they’re on their honeymoon.
19. that Bryce Young is starting to have some success on The Panthers. He’s a great kid, and a gifted player, on a pretty bad team, but I think the rest of the NFL is waking up to that.
20. to have Terry and Victoria White as my dear friends. You could not ask for better friends.
21. for any time there’s an empty middle seat.
22. that I got to go to Tokyo with my whole family and that we had such a very special time in a very special place. Truly an unforgettable trip.
23. for all the times when my wife knows exactly what to say and how to say it
24. that there’s going to be another season of Ted Lasso.
25. to see my wife’s beautiful face each morning and her smile that still melts my heart.
26. for the free updates this year to Logic Pro X (the software I use for music production). It keeps getting better and better.
27. that our Christmas Tree is already up
28. that we have so many family dinners together. There’s so much laughter and love all around.
29. that the girl of my dreams and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary this year.
30. for Rick Sammon. He. Is. The. Best!
31. for everyone who tunes in to watch “The Grid.” We’re in something like our 11th year, and I still love it.
32. for all the awesome photographers who attended our online conferences this year.
33. that my daughter got my wife’s sense of humor. She cracks me up (and she’s so much fun to be around).
34. for Christina Sauer – the head of our video operations. She is the queen of video production, and a joy to work with.
35. for Sola’s low-carb blueberry bagels. The best I’ve had so far.
36. for all the Phillips Hue smart home gear. They make it all so easy.
37. for the little tool on Amazon that fixes all the lights on your Christmas Tree that are out. It literally works like magic!
38. for our three absolutely wonderful, fun-filled, hilarious doggos. They bring our family so much joy every single day.
39. that my daughter has such great friends, and she’s so committed to them (and they to her).
40. for Coffeemate. I freakin’ love it!
41. getting up and hearing my son’s voice in the kitchen because he once again brought my wife her favorite bagel that morning.
42. for the “Christmas Essentials” playlist on Apple Music.
43. to see how happy it makes my wife Kalebra when one of us, any of us, eats a vegetable of any kind.
44. for all the times my wife texts me a heart emoji
45. for Margie, Angela, and Jessica in our graphics department. They are just so good, and we are incredibly lucky to have them on our team.
46. for the Antonelli’s Cheese Shop monthly cheese subscription that my wife got me last Christmas, and I’m still loving it. It’s four amazing cheeses delivered to our door every month. Super yummy!
47. for Hormel’s chili with no beans.
48. for every time someone has stuck up for me when somebody said something crappy to me on social media. I appreciate it more than you know.
49. our front doors are really, really sturdy because when our doggos see or hear the Amazon delivery driver, they race for those doors like a Japanese Bullet Train, and they’re up on their hind legs, shaking the door, and it sounds like ten dogs at 100-decibels. Scares ’em to death, but thankfully, those doors hold ’em back. LOL!
50. when I hear my daughter-in-law Stephi come in the side door and she yells out, “Hello, family!”
51. for any time we get an Amazon delivery, and the dogs don’t realize they were at the door.
52. that I don’t care that much about my Fantasy Football team because I think I’m literally in last place, (no big thanks to CJ Stroud).
53. for the amazing Paul Reed Smith guitar my wife got me for our 35th anniversary. It’s hands-down the best playing guitar I have (and I have a bunch).
54. That Kim Doty is helping me with my social, and still edits all my books. She is the best!
55. that clothes companies keep making black shirts with logos on them
56. for you.
57. for when good things happen to my friends and I can share in their joy.
58. for all the wisdom and whip-cracking the mentors in my life have given me.
59. I get to have Jason Stevens come with me to some of my workshops, and we get to create some really fun courses in amazing locations.
60. For Juan Alfonso. There’s a reason we call him “Magic Juan.”
61. for Cabot’s Habanero cheddar cheese. It’s got some really nice zip without being too hot, and it’s so darn good.
62. that no one has found a way to out-pizza the hut.
63. that I have friends like Kellly and Susan Jones. Total class.
64. that each day starts with the warmest big hug from my wife.
65. I have a written way to show the people I love how much I care.
66. for B&H Photo, and all the awesome folks who work there.
67. that I get to work with Dobson and Kathy “K-Pop” Porupski. Two of the best people anywhere!
68. that our family makes birthdays really special for each other
69. for great people like Miles Smith, Willie Peckham, Bill Morgenstern, Teresa Letkiewicza, John Hepburn Jr., and all the great photographers I’ve met along the way.
70. for Carl Brown and his guitar lessons online. He’s a really great teacher.
71. for how my son always shares new songs he finds with me.
72. that the print job came out so great on my latest book. Yes, it took a long time (it was printed in Korea), but man, did it come out beautifully. Also, I’m grateful my publisher was all in for trying a book that has one foot on the coffee table and one foot in the classroom.
73. for my UK friends Claire and “Dr. Jones” who are such gracious hosts, and great friends. They are so much fun!
74. for my buddy Paul (Hey, Paul!) and his awful taste in music.
75. for Erik Kuna and all the great stuff he does for our company, and our podcast, and for all the folks he helps with photography. He is one of a kind, and I’m so lucky to still work with him.
76. my son’s homemade chocolate chip cookies made from scratch. They are the best I’ve ever had.
77. for the times when I actually thought of the perfect gift.
78. for the show “The Inside Man” with Ted Danson. I laughed, I cried, and it made me think. Can’t wait for another season.
79. for a mother and father who made sure I knew, every single day, that they loved me and always wanted the best for me.
80. that I got to speak at “The Photography Show” in England this year and had such a fantastic experience. Can’t wait until next year (I’m speaking there again) when the show moves from its long-time home in Birmingham to the Excel in London.
81. that my wife knows me so well, and is always looking out for me.
82. all the “Family Friday” dinners with the kids. It’s a tradition they started, and we just love it!
83. for times when my daughter finds me at like 1:00 am and talks me into going to iHop. We laugh all the way there, the whole time we’re there, and all the way home. It’s kind of a “thing” now, and I love it!
84. I get to see my son being in love with such a wonderful girl, and that she’s such an important part of our family.
85. for having the best brother that anyone could have, and that his partner, Dee, is such a fun part of our family.
86. for Christmas Eve when all our family, and extended family, spend the night at our house so we’re all right there together Christmas morning.
87. Saturday afternoon’s when there’s an Alabama football game on (#rolltide!).
88. for the way my wife really listens. It’s a gift.
89. that my wife makes sure we all have everything we need.
90. for Locatelli Perorino Roman grated cheese. It may be the single greatest food enhancer on earth.
91. that my wife will watch Bama and Bucs football games with me.
92. for the sounds of the doggos paws as they scamper around the house
93. for the wall of black and white family photos that my wife put together that line both sides of our front foyer. Seeing all those images from our lives always puts a smile on my face.
94. that I got to eat at Carmine’s this year. Their chicken scalopinni over angel hair pasta with a lemon butter sauce is just….well, it’s just perfect!
95. that I get to work with such talented, creative, and fun people every day in my job.
96. for our tradition of watching “Love Actually” again every Christmas
97. for Dave Clayton and Glyn Dewis. I’ll never forget how when things got tough a few years back and everyone was piling on, these two guys threw me a life preserver instead. I’ll never forget.
98. to have friends like Vanelli. It’s a Vanelli world, and we’re just living in it.
99. for greasy double-cheeseburgers served in restaurants whose cleanliness is so suspect that my wife would never eat there.
100. for God and His Son Jesus Christ, for leading me to the woman of my dreams, for blessing us with such amazing children, for allowing me to make a living doing something I truly love, for always being there when I need Him, for blessing me with a wonderful, fulfilling, and happy life and such a warm, loving family to share it with.
Here’s wishing you a safe, happy, healthy Thanksgiving, filled with yummy food stuffs, and lots of football (unless you’re an Auburn fan, in which case, I’m sorry but you knew how this was going to go). #Rolltide! #GoBucs!
–Scott