A few days ago I started my first “Best of List” with “Top Moments Of 2015.” I enjoyed taking a look back at the last 12 months. It’s been a great and busy year.

Today I wanted to take a look at my favorite TV shows from the year 2015. I love watching good TV shows. Once you get me hooked into a good storyline and compelling characters, I will stay with a TV show until the very end. Two of my favorite shows (Mad Men and Parks & Recreation) ended this year. But several new shows have entered into my weekly viewing.

I have 4 comedies and 4 dramas on the list this year. Several (House of Cards and True Detective specifically) would have made the list last year, but put up disappointing 2015 seasons in my opinion. Below is the list of shows in no specific order (but broken up by drama and comedy). Enjoy!

• Fargo: Fargo is easily becoming one of my favorite shows of all time. I loved the first season, but I actually might be enjoying this season even more. The final episode of this season is tonight. I have high hopes!
• Mad Men: Mad Men ended this year with a fantastic second half of Season 7 (the first half aired in 2014). I started watching this show in season 2 and never looked back. For me, Don Draper is one of the best characters in the history of television. If you have never seen this show, I can’t recommend it enough.
• Game of Thrones: HBO is responsible for some of the best TV shows of all time. GoT has definitely joined this list. If you have never seen this show, be warned…do not get attached to any specific character. That is all.
• Better Call Saul: To know me is to know that I am a huge Breaking Bad fan. It is my favorite TV show of all time. I think it got better every season and ended on top. That’s a huge accomplishment. So I was very apprehensive about the prequel/spin-off Better Call Saul. It did not disappoint! I am very excited about the second season starting in a few months.
• Parks & Recreation: I will miss this show. Rachel and I loved watching it together. We loved the characters. They felt like family. It’s one of those shows that also improved each season. Plus, Ron Swanson will forever be one of my favorite characters on TV.
• Last Man on Earth: Will Forte and Kristen Schaal have some of the best chemistry on TV. They are both so funny. While this show is only in its second season, it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite comedies on TV.
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: First off, the theme song alone puts this show on the list. I still find myself singing it. Secondly, Titus Andromedon is unlike any other character on TV. But mainly, this show is quirky, witty and flat-out hilarious.
• Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Michael Schur (The Office and Parks & Rec) helped create this show and it does not disappoint. In my opinion, this show has the most potential to be the next great comedy.

This is my list. There are several shows that were close to making the cut and several shows that I haven’t seen yet, but have heard great things about. What were your favorite TV shows of 2015?

I’m a sucker for a good “Best of List.” Whether it’s movies, concerts, music, tv shows, sports teams…I always find myself reading them and then creating my own list in my mind.

So for the month of December, I thought I might do my own version of a best of list. Not sure how many I will do and how often but for today, I wanted to start with my personal top moments of 2015. Quite a few of these will include running and Disney because I love both of those things.

This list is in order chronologically, not by importance.

1. Running the “Goofy Challenge,” which included my first full marathon, in January. (Goofy Challenge is a Half Marathon on Saturday and a Full Marathon on Sunday for a total of 39.3 miles.)
2. Moving into our new house in February.
3. Rachel’s brother getting married in March.
4. Running my first sub 2:00 half marathon in Montgomery, Alabama in March.
5. Duke Basketball winning the national title in basketball in April.
6. Staying on property at the Walt Disney World Resort for Rachel’s 30th birthday in May.
7. Going to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina in late May/early June with Rachel’s family.
8. Visiting my Dad with my siblings over the 4th of July.
9. Visiting one of Rachel’s best friends and her husband in August up in Durham, North Carolina for the weekend.
10. Spending a week over Labor Day at the Disneyland resort while running the Disneyland Half Marathon. This was our 2nd straight “coast to coast” year (running at least a half marathon in Florida and California in the same calendar year).
11. Renewing our season passes at WDW in October for another magical year.
12. Having a super busy but amazing November.(Officiating my friends Ellis and Colleen’s wedding, California road trip from San Francisco to Anaheim, beach trip to Florida over Thanksgiving with my family)
13. Turning a new decade in December as well as going to the SEC     Championship Football Game.

Below is a small sample of my top moments from the year 2015.

My birthday was Thursday. I don’t typically like to make a big deal out of my birthday. I’m not sure if it’s being the middle child or the fact that it’s in December, but I usually like to keep my birthday pretty low key. 

I knew our plans for my birthday weekend were pretty laidback. All we really had planned was a 20 mile training run and a dinner with Rachel’s family. Outside of that, I was hoping to take it easy and maybe watch some College/NFL football. There were several games of interest to me, including the SEC Championship.

A little background on me: Being from Alabama, there is no doubt that College Football (and specifically Alabama/Auburn football) runs very deep in my family. I was born and raised an Alabama football fan. Both my parents went to the University of Alabama. I remember growing up going to and watching Alabama games with my Dad/family.

However, when it came time to pick a college…surprisingly Auburn University won out. There are several reasons for this, but honestly the biggest reason was Auburn was where several of my closest friends were going. But (and I know this is weird), I stayed an Alabama football fan. After 18 years of cheering for the Alabama Crimson Tide, I couldn’t bring myself to cheer against their biggest rival. And yes…I was that guy at the opposing college that went to class wearing their rival’s shirts and hats.

Now don’t get me wrong, I loved my time at Auburn. It was a great experience. I met so many amazing people and had amazing experiences. But my allegiance in football never wavered. 

Well to make a long story even longer…Rachel ended up surprising me with tickets to the SEC Championship for my birthday. She got them from her boss at work. And friends…these seats were amazing. Club level on the 25 yard line. There was no way we were passing up this opportunity to watch Alabama play in the SEC title game.

So as I mentioned in yesterday’s blog…we shifted our training run to early Saturday morning and then made our way down to the Georgia Dome for the game. Even though we were pretty dang tired from running 20 miles that morning, we had a great time! Plus, the Crimson Tide won! Below are several pictures of our time at the game.

As a teenager in the early to mid 90’s (who played guitar and was in several “garage” bands), I was heavily influenced by Alternative music. For me, bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden and Stone Temple Pilots were on constant rotation in my CD player.

I was very sad to hear the news this morning that Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots had passed away at the young age of 48. Stone Temple Pilot’s first two albums (Core and Purple) are responsible for some of the best songs of the 1990’s. From the songs Plush and Creep to Interstate Love Song and Vasoline (and so many more), their songs will always hold a special place in my heart.

RIP Scott Weiland. I will never forget the impact that your voice and music had on my life and music.

Last Tuesday, Rachel and I headed down to Tarpon Springs, Florida (Crystal Beach) for Thanksgiving with my side of the family. My Dad rented a huge beach house for all of my siblings and their spouses/kids. (17 total people!)

I blogged about my family last week as a part of the What I’m Thankful For series of posts. When we all get together, it is always a good time. (Sometimes a little loud and crazy but always good fun!) I think it was especially meaningful for my Dad to have us all together. You could just see it on his face the whole time. He was so happy. Plus, no one loves his kids and grandkids like my Dad does.

It was a super laid back time. We lounged around the pool/hot tub, ate way too much food, watched a lot of football, walked/ran several days, rode bikes, played on the beach, kayaked, fished, made s’mores, drank a lot of coffee (and a few adult beverages) and so much more! I think it reminded all of us how important family is.

I’m so grateful to be a part of a family that not only loves, but genuinely likes each other. Here are several pictures from our trip last week. Enjoy!

I’m a goal-oriented person. I stay more focused when I’m driving towards something. I typically start most of my weeks with a to-do list. When I started running races a few years ago, I immediately scoured the internet for training tips and plans/goals. As we enter into December, I have decided to set a few running goals for myself for the month.

Obviously, I recognize the holiday season can be very busy, but I’m hoping this will push me to maintain balance.

• I am running the Dopey Challenge in January 2016 (48.6 miles over 4 days, which includes a marathon on January 10). So this month I have two 20 mile training runs in addition to quite a few back to back runs. My first goal is to stick to my training plan!
  

  

   

• Currently, I have run 1070 miles for the year. My goal is to try to hit 1200 miles (an average of 100 miles per month) for 2015.

• I want to work more on my core. This is where I struggle the most during my longest runs. My goal is to do a 1 minute plank each day in addition to ab workouts.

• (Non Running Goal) Since I started this blog a few weeks ago, I’ve been good about blogging 5-6 times week. My final goal is to continue to blog at least 3-4 times a week.

Do you like to set goals for yourself?

I love Christmas music! It pretty much dominates my playlist from the week of Thanksgiving until the end of December. I remember growing up listening to old Christmas records on our stereo in the playroom of our house. We would sit on the floor looking through the J.C. Penny’s Christmas catalog for ideas for Christmas presents while listening to the Christmas classics. Things felt so much simpler back then. 

As we hit December 1st, I thought I would share my top 10 favorite Christmas songs. Please note these are not in any order, as it was difficult enough just picking the top 10. And while there are so many newer Christmas songs that are excellent, there is just something about the oldies. (Also note…I didn’t include any Christmas hymns, as I could do another list of just those songs.)

1. “White Christmas” – Bing Crosby
2. “Christmas Time Is Here” – Vince Guaraldi Trio
3. “Holly Jolly Christmas” – Burl Ives
4. “Sleigh Ride” – Boston Pops Orchestra
5. “Rocking Around The Christmas Tree” – Brenda Lee
6. “The Christmas Song” – Nat “King” Cole
7. “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” – Andy Williams
8. “Little Saint Nick” – The Beach Boys
9. “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” – Frank Sinatra
10. “You’re A Mean One One, Mr. Grinch” – Thurl Ravenscroft

What are some of your favorite classic Christmas songs?

As we come to the end of November (how is this even possible!), I finally have a chance to catch my breath and reflect on this crazy month. It was very busy month to say the least. To recap…

• Monthly running mileage: Over 130 miles (including a 18 and 19 mile training run). Dopey challenge (48.6 miles in 4 days) training is in full swing!

• I went to Orlando to officiate a wedding for a former student of mine the first weekend of November. It was a lovely ceremony/reception with 2 wonderful people.
• I returned Sunday from Orlando and left Tuesday morning to head out to California for 5 days. (Rachel had been at a work conference for the last week). We spent the next 5 days driving the coast of California from San Francisco to Anaheim.
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  One of my favorite pictures of us from the trip.

  

  

  Crazy busy work week in between California and Thanksgiving week with several night meetings and a Sunday morning meeting. (got to love working in the church world)

• Finally, we left Tuesday to head to Crystal Beach in Tarpon Springs, Florida for 4 days with my family for Thanksgiving. My Dad rented a beach house for all my siblings and their families for a total of 17 people (8 nieces and nephews included)! I will blog more about that trip later this week.
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  And yesterday we finally got around to decorating for Christmas (our favorite holiday)!

All in all…it’s been a busy but amazing month! I don’t usually travel quite this much but it was a great time with family, friends and, of course, Rachel. Looking forward to a “little” less crazy December with only 1 quick (36 hour) trip to New Orleans plus two 20 mile training runs…in addition to my birthday and Christmas! Should be fun!

I love the Christmas season! It’s my favorite time of the year. And this year will be our first Christmas in our house (we moved in last February). Today, in addition to putting up the tree, we had several other things on the schedule. We started off the morning with a 12 mile training run, then decorated the tree, went out and bought some more Christmas decorations for the house, saw The Good Dinosaur (so good…love Pixar), went grocery shopping, and have just finished making/eating dinner.

As we head into December and the holiday season, I’m so thankful for days like these when we can get several things checked off the list. Anyways…thought I would share a picture of our tree!