The Cranky Creative gives thanks

Happy Thanksgiving, friends and readers!

It’s good to count our blessings every once in a while, and today is the perfect day to do so.

Here are a few things I am thankful for this year.

The big things

My new wife. After 15 of the best years of my life, Adrianna and I married on a beach in Florida . . . and also in our dining room in Wisconsin. We had two ceremonies, and both were once-in-a-lifetime experiences with my once-in-a-life-time girl.

Just last week, Adrianna and I spent our honeymoon in Las Vegas. (Click the thumbnails to see a larger image, then click your browser’s Back button to return to this page.)

And before I go any further, I’d like to thank Adrianna for all of her support and encouragement over the past year and a half as I have worked to build this blog and a freelance writing business. Her faith in me means everything.

My clients. Speaking of freelancing, 2019 is my first year as a full-time freelance copywriter working from home. Thankfully, I’ve been blessed with a variety of clients who are great to work with.

Our fur babies. Mochi (the big beige boy) and Mags (our little dark girl) bring us love and laughs every day. We adopted Mochi a couple of years ago from a friend and former colleague when she moved to an apartment in New York that didn’t accept pets. Our little spitfire Mags was found and brought to a shelter in the winter of 2018 when she was six months old. We adopted her from Angel’s Wish, a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding forever homes for stray cats in southern Wisconsin.

Our families. They say you can’t choose your family, but Adrianna and I are blessed with the most loving and supportive families we could ask for. I want to thank my mom, dad, and sister Lisa for always being there and for putting up with all my crankiness.

My good friends. I’d like to give a special shout-out to Craig, Jeff, Mike, Chris, and Justin. (Justin, thank you so much for introducing me to my biggest freelance client.)

My fellow creatives. I’ve said it before: Creatives are some of the most fun and interesting people. I’m fortunate to know my fair share of these fancy thinkers, and my life is richer for it.

You, my dear readers. As The Cranky Creative continues to grow its readership around the world, I am happy and humbled by all of your comments and kind words. It gives me great satisfaction to know that readers are finding value here in posts like “Anxiety and creativity: How they’re linked, tips to cope,” “Should I quit my job? 16 signs it’s time to move on,” and the free marketing creative brief template.

A strong economy. More jobs is a good thing for everyone.

A healthier outlook. I’ve always been high strung. Since reading The Pocket Pema Chodron, I’ve learned more about how to relax and take life as it comes. Oh, I’m still a hot mess some days, but I feel better and I’m living a happier life.

The healing power of laughter. I love to laugh, and occasionally we find something good on TV that keeps us in stitches. Schitt’s Creek and The Good Place are two amazing shows we’ve binge-watched this fall. Schitt’s Creek in particular tickles the funny bone with sharp writing and some of the most laugh-out-loud hilarious acting you have ever seen.

The smaller, but still cool things

Old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll. It lives! I’ve been listening to a lot of Them Evils and Dirty Honey. Check out this rockin’ video from Them Evils:

Forensic Files. Every night, we fall asleep to murder and mayhem narrated in melodious tones by the late, great Peter Thomas (1924–2016). His warm, mellow voice soothes our souls like that of a grandfather reading bedtime stories. I hope you are resting well too, Mr. Thomas.

Classic video games. This year, I’ve gained a new appreciation for the bruising difficulty and beautiful pixel art of classic 16-bit video games.

Below: Donkey Kong Country and Super Metroid for the Super Nintendo; and Sonic the Hedgehog and Streets of Rage 2 for the Sega Genesis.

Iced coffees. Nothing gets me ready for work in the morning like an ice-cold caramel or hazelnut coffee.

Bloody Marys. There’s no better way to start the workday weekend—except, occasionally, a tall glass of mimosa.

This new auto-formatting thing on WordPress. Suddenly, it seems I no longer have to copy and paste proper apostrophes and quotation marks into my blog posts. WordPress is changing them automagically. Huzzah!

Happy Thanksgiving!

What are you thankful for this year? Share with us below.

Here’s a bonus Dirty Honey music video to end this post. Enjoy! \m/

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