The past few days have been filled with many things: sunblock, a warm drive to Palm Springs, long dinners, shopping, laughing. But beyond the surface, my mind was constantly filled with thankfulness. And by nothing of my own accord, but, rather, because of all of YOU. Every day since I announced the Leather Craftsmen Contest on my blog last week, my inbox was filled with blog comments brimming with thankful sentiments. Some where painful, others funny, but the core remained the same: To be thankful is to be wholly content with one's station in life.

Oh, Internet, thank you for reminding me of just how thankful I am. Here are a few comments that made me smile:
Julie Kjorsvik: I am thankful for shoes…..after all, shoes are reflection of each occassion in your life. 🙂
Renee Camacho: I'm thankful for my ex-boyfriend breaking up with me (he's crazy) and allowing me the opportunity to find someone who will not only love me but will love my passion for photography!
Kaitlynn: Smores & dirty feet. I just rolled in from a very needed relaxing camping trip.
L Finau: I am grateful for ELMO.. He has been very useful these past couple of months.. My kids have been occupied with him while I edit photos and update my blog not to mention follow your blogs as well as the blogs of all the other great photographers.. Yep thats it.. ELMO will win the award for what Im grateful for.
Syreena B: I am thankful that God made babies be born with all gums and no teeth… 1. that would just be plain freaky and 2. there is just something about that toothless smile that sends my heart afloat 😉
Ashley: I'm thankful for all the little things we used to take for granted: my old car that gets us where we need to go, our first apartment, not having all the money in the world, the tunnel and not just the light at the end of it.
Frances Ramos: I thank God for my taste buds.
fiona andersen: Ok I am grateful for CHEESE… I LOVE cheese, you can melt it, eat it straight out of the pack, put it in a sandwich, make souffle, fondue!!!! I love CHEESE…. must be something special as the moon is made out of it!!!!! 😉 Thank you lord for CHEESE
Emily Dobson Photography: I am thankful for the trash man. No one knows him, but without him, life would be a mess! 🙂
mel : i am grateful, that i can still say ‘i love you', even after being hurt. i am grateful to hear it said back.
Robert Tran: I am thankful for Steve Jobs. THANK YOU!!! Without him the technology industry would look very different. Imagine a world with no Ipod, with no Iphone. I can't. Can u? Here's to you Steve Jobs. (who by the way allowed me to post this comment by the deadline via Iphone.). P.S. Thank you for inspiring us to think differently.
Melissa Oholendt: I am grateful for my flat iron. Without it I would look like a poor-man's Farrah Fawcett and I'm pretty sure no one would hire me….ever.
Matt Parks: the lingering smell of fresh ground coffee seeping up the stairs inviting one to join his lovely wife of years in one of those “just fits right” hugs, where her shoulder slides perfectly under mine, my hands seems to be the “just right' size to rub her back and she's “just tall” enough to pull her chin up towards mine for a delightfully perfect good morning kiss. That is what I'm most thankful for this morning. The “just right” moments one savor over a Saturday morning cup of coffee.
mindy@STUDIO6.23: the color yellow…… aqua, orange and fushia, too……. laughing till it hurts……. crazy adventures…… fields of sunflowers….. sprinkles on ice cream…… music that moves me……. giggles from my children…… cool summer nights……. spontaneity….. ginormous balloons……… making out wtih my hot husband, (oh yeah!)…….. kindred spirits……… dancing the night away…….. SURPRISES…… singing in the shower……… serving others……. gas station cappuccinos……. my life.
Jen: I am thankful for being laid off in March of this year. At first it was devastating. But slowly I began to see the possibilities open wide for me. I didn't have to just find a job for the sake of finding a job. I could reexamine my entire life (as painful as it was) to see where this new path could take me. I rediscovered my love for photography. I may not change careers for photography yet but I'm sure enjoying the journey. Cheers!
Daniel Eskue: I'm thankful I don't have to read all the comments on what people are thankful for ; )
Caitlin: I am thankful for the smell of a freshly blown out match. There is something so comforting about that smell. A candle was just lit because company is coming over. Or maybe just to set the mood. Or maybe it is to light the grill for a family get together. Whatever the case, it always seems to be joyful, and soothing.
karen c.: I am thankful for Dove Chocolate, without which it'd be impossible to patiently raise a two year old.
Ashley Smith: I'm thankful for Hodgkin's Lymphoma. I know it's odd to be thankful for cancer but I am. I was diagnosed at 29yo. and at stage 3. The journey it has put me on has made me realize how much I need to be thankful for and all the blessings I have big or small. I appreciate everything and am a way happier person. I think that's why I like to hug everyone. I just like to show everyone how much I appreciate them. No matter who they are.
Isaac Wu: I'm thankful for my socks…sure, barefeet on the sand is nice, but honestly, tell me, the feeling of a new thick and cushy sock is heaven sent.
anna : I am thankful for sunsets & margaritas!
Atlanta Wedding Photographer Lauren Wright: I am SO thankful for treadmills and elliptical machines with built in TVs. Now I can work it out AND watch designers make it work on Project Runway.. at the same time! 🙂

And if you were to ask me what I was thankful for today, I'd have to say I am thankful coming home from a trip to find bouquets of flowers strewn around a clean house from my lovely husband…

And the lucky winner of the FREE Leather Craftsmen Companion Album is Otto Rascon and what he's thankful for is as follows:
Otto Rascon: I am so thankful for my pillow. Yes, my pillow. It is soft and cushy and it makes me go to my happy place every night. It also supports my wife's head when we watch a movie and she lays her head on my lap. I also use it to pillow fight with my 2 year old daughter. My pillow. I am thankful for it.

Happy Thursday!