What is the best possible realization about approaching the end of a spectacular year?

Knowing that the next one is going to be even better.

I stringed together two incredible years in 2014 and 2015. A year ago at this time I had no idea how I would top 2014. But it soon became very evident when I knew in my heart that it was time to ask the best girl in the world to marry me. When she said yes it cemented 2015 as the best year in my life.

However, as I mentioned above, 2016 will surpass these past joyous 12 months when I marry Sidney in June.

Besides the obvious reason, 2015 was great in other ways too. I spent the full year in Myrtle Beach, learning more and more about this beautiful part of the country and the culture that comes with it. I grew more in my position at Coastal Carolina University where our social media program prospered. During the year, #CCUSocialMedia grew across the board, involved our student body like never before, and garnered national attention and honors. I got to be part of a few key milestones at our institution as we joined the Sun Belt Conference, installed teal turf, and eclipsed the 10,000 student enrollment mark.

Outside of work I grew much closer to my new family. I was welcomed so warmly by Sidney’s loved ones. I spent holidays with them, ate regular meals with them, celebrated birthdays with them, and accompanied them on a fun trip to Atlanta. With that said, I would say I grew closer to my own family as well. My mom and dad made a trip to see me in March. My brother made the cross country trek to see me in December. I went back to Spokane for two fabulous and memorable vacations in June and September. Trust me, when you don’t get to see your family as regularly as you once used to, you truly start to value them even more and make the most out of the time you do have with them.

If pressed to identify a few highlights from 2015 I would include the following: Talking to various groups from middle school students to our Board of Trustees about social media. Attending the 2015 NCAA Tournament with the CCU men’s basketball team in Omaha, Nebraska. Visiting new places such as Savannah, Charlotte, and Columbia. Returning to Spokane to volunteer at Hoopfest after a year hiatus. Traveling to Walla Walla, Washington, where I got to introduce Sidney to my extended family. Watching my niece grow in-person through six month intervals and on a daily basis through group messaging and Skype calls. Becoming more involved in my church (St. Andrew Parish).

I can’t thank everyone enough for contributing to such a great year for me. I am extremely lucky and blessed. I am sad to see 2015 go but so excited for 2016. I wish you all a fabulous year. Don’t Blink.

Who doesn’t like opening gifts at Christmas? For many families, the act of ripping open presents under the tree is rooted in tradition. Everything seems to follow a ritual. Passing the gifts out. Taking turns opening the presents. Cleaning up the wrapping paper.

Here at the Reser household we have our own traditions as well. A couple days ago we opened our gifts on Christmas evening as per usual. This time, however, Sidney got to take part in our Christmas festivities. Below I have just ten quick highlights from our time opening gifts around the tree.

* My niece did the most significant walking she has done yet while we finished opening gifts. Several times she walked back and forth between my mom and sister, receiving a loud ovation each time she made the short journey.

A couple minutes before this photo was taken, Mikayla was walking back and forth in our living room!

* My sister gave my brother, Sidney, and I scratch off tickets. I looked at Sidney and asked her if she wanted to enter into an agreement where she would split the money she won from her tickets with me and I would split the money I won from my tickets with her. I proposed this deal in front of the whole family.

Sidney, not missing a beat, responded while flaunting her ring, “Baby, all of your money is already mine.” Everyone busted out in laughter.

* I wrapped a last minute gift for my mom seconds before we started passing out gifts. I hastily gave it to her as we sat down. I don’t know if it really registered to her that I was giving her a present. When all the gifts were opened up, I realized she had not opened the small package I had personally given to her. I also realized that it was nowhere to be found. After turning the living room up trying to find it, my dad and I went to the very bottom of the garbage bag that was filled with wrapping paper and recovered it. Honest mistake.

* Probably the favorite gift I was given this Christmas was the personalized stationary from my mom and dad!

I write notes all the time so this personalized stationary my parents got me was exactly what I needed.

* Finding the pickle is a tradition that my family does in conjunction with opening up gifts. My mom hid it in the tree and then sent my brother, my sister, her husband, Sid, and myself on a hunt to find it. After a couple minutes, my sister reached into the back of the tree and found it. Her prize was more scratch offs!

* How about a visual of our celebration. Here is a panorama of all of us opening our gifts in my parents’ living room.

Here is a panorama of our Reser family Christmas.

* As I did last year, I once again outfitted my dad and brother in Chanticleer gear. I took advantage of the sale our university bookstore had a couple months ago and got them baseball pullovers.

I got my brother and dad Coastal Carolina gear.

* When we were younger my mom (or at the time Santa) would fill the stockings of us kids with thank you notes. We no longer have stockings but my mom still made sure to wrap packages of thank you notes for the three of us.

Me holding the thank you notes my parents gave me.

* How about a time line of when we open gifts? We ate dinner at 3 p.m. after a day of watching sports and playing games. After we took some time to let the food from the delicious feast digest, we opened presents. Dessert was then available afterwards. From there we took our annual pilgrimage to the movie theater. This year we watched “Joy.” We then returned home and those (me) who wanted to wait a little while longer to eat dessert indulged.

Our Christmas family movie at the theater this year was “Joy.”

* It seems each year my mom always says “We are going to have a slim Christmas this year.” This declaration doesn’t bother me one bit but it never proves to be true, including this year. Once again my parents outdid themselves getting us all kinds of stuff that we didn’t deserve.

My mom once again outdid herself on gifts. It was nice to be able to share Christmas with Sidney.

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There you have it, everything you wanted to know about us opening our gifts. Have a great rest of your Sunday! This upcoming week I will be publishing a couple of my annual end of the year blog posts. Don’t Blink.

This afternoon, Sidney and I enjoyed a very unique opportunity to really get in the holiday spirit like never before. My brother works at the Northeast Youth Center, a facility that provides a sanctuary for kids in the Spokane area. Late last week he asked if Sidney and I would like to provide a Yuletide surprise to the children.

As I have written about before, I never pass up a chance to play Santa Claus. Also, if you remember correctly, I purchased an elf costume earlier this month for a work meeting. With Glen well aware about both of these things, he asked if Sidney and I would want to dress up and come to the center.

This is us before we left the North Pole and went to the Northeast Youth Center.

He didn’t need to pull my arm. Sidney politely agreed.

Santa and his elf appeared at the Northeast Youth Center at 4 p.m. We were ushered inside and greeted all the happily Christmas-fever induced children with a joyful greeting from Myrtle Be…I mean the North Pole. The kids were delighted at this unexpected visit!

We appreciated Glen for allowing us to come to his work and hang with the kids.

We then sat down in two chairs to read the group Christmas stories. As Sidney reads to her second grade students for a living, she naturally was the one who read the two books we selected in advance, “Snowmen at Christmas” and “If You Take a Mouse to the Movies”. We had a terrific audience and Sid did a great job.

Sidney did a wonderful job reading to the kids.

Before Santa and his elf returned to the sleigh, we passed out candy canes and mingled with the kids. However, with the reindeer outside starting to get restless, we soon had to depart.

After the reading was finished, the kids enjoyed a meet and greet with Santa.

I personally do a lot of things to get myself and others in the Christmas spirit. But today’s activity was a first. I thank Glen for the opportunity to go to his workplace and have some fun. Now even more fun awaits tonight. We are off to enjoy our annual Christmas Eve Eve celebration at a couple of our favorite local watering holes (after we take off our suits). Don’t Blink.

Most of the time my blog posts turn into Periscope broadcasts. However, I make history today with a Periscope broadcast turning into a blog post. Recently I chatted with my Periscope followers about my top five favorite Christmas carols. With the prime Christmas season now here, I want to spread that cheer to all of you on this fine Sunday. Here is my list:

On this Sunday before Christmas I count down my favorite carols.

Honorable Mention #1: The Grinch Song – Earlier this holiday season, Sidney and I had an epic duet where we belted out “The Grinch Song” together. By the time we were finished we were exhausted but we were still laughing like maniacs. This song is simply fun and deserves at least a mention on this countdown.

Honorable Mention #2: Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer – Sure this song can get annoying but it is the original “funny” Christmas song. I laugh each time I hear “she’d been drinking too much eggnog.” Also, the song has incredible power to get stuck in your head for long periods of time. Because of all this and the fact that my actual list focuses much more on traditional Christmas carols, “Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer” earns honorable mention status.

#5: Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – The intro of this song just screams “Christmas” to me. If you could catch Christmas in a bottle by scooping up musical notes in the air, “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” would provide them. There isn’t a better song to listen to while shopping at the mall during the holidays. The song also receives sentimental points because it always reminds me of “Home Alone.”

#4: Angels We Have Heard On High – Gloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooria…in excelsis deo! How can you not love that long, spiritual note. Growing up in our local church I would always enjoy it when the choir belted this one out. After each verse they would really turn it on for the chorus and hit that trademark note with complete power and passion. It was impossible not to sing along.

#3: We Three Kings – I think this song does an absolute phenomenal job of telling the Christmas story. It carries with it a beautiful sense of reverence and tradition. My favorite part is when it breaks away from the solemn “we three kings of Orient are” and goes into the slightly more upbeat “Oooooooo star of wonder, star of night…” portion.

#2: Joy to the World – Talk about the most inspirational Christmas song there is! This Christmas carol is just so triumphant and proud. It nails the reason for the season and it does it with the perfect amount of pomp and circumstance. Nothing is better than after a beautiful Christmas Eve mass the choir sends us all out with a powerful rendition of “Joy to the World.”

#1: O Come All Ye Faithful – I have to admit, I understand why some might find this a puzzling choice for my top spot. Sure it is a nice song but it doesn’t really pack the punch or carry the significance of other carols. However, it is just a personal favorite of mine. I think it is a beautiful song and outlines the true meaning of the season. About six or seven years ago, I used “O Come All Ye Faithful” for my background music when I created my holiday voicemail greeting. Sitting around the Christmas tree while listening to this song truly enables you to reflect on the great Christmas miracle.

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Please take some time this Sunday evening to gather your loved ones and listen to a Christmas carol or two. Go ahead and make your own lists too! It is a precious time of the year, I hope you too have special songs that help define it. Don’t Blink.

I am out west on vacation sitting in my parents’ living room admiring the Christmas tree. Life is good. These pleasant conditions have me jollier than ever to write a Thursday Rundown blog post. So as I take a sip of my hot chocolate, let’s get started.

Holiday Tradition – Speaking of hot chocolate, I have to tell you about a special Christmas tradition my parents started. Always on a snowy night before Christmas, my mom would make a huge batch of hot coco and evenly distribute it into five mugs. Us kids would then take our respective cup and add marshmallows, marshmallow cream, and/or whipped cream to the top of it. We would then all invade the living room, turning off all the lights in the house. We would turn the Christmas tree lights on and play a Christmas CD. Called “holiday cheer” by my parents, this was a special evening we all looked forward to. Last weekend, Sidney and I held our own version of it. Sid found a delicious hot chocolate recipe on the internet and we sat in front of her beautiful tree while goofily singing along with carols we chose off of YouTube.

This was my delicious cup of hot chocolate I enjoyed at Sid’s this past Saturday.

Weather Extremes – Right before I left Myrtle Beach yesterday, it was 75 degrees and sunny. When I walked out of the Spokane Airport last night, it was 16 degrees and snowy. Usually a weather change as drastic as that has the potential to make me sick. Luckily, I feel like a million bucks right now. Chalk it up to my parents’ lovely fireplace.

Two days. Two extremes.

Alaska Airlines – In order for me to give special recognition to a company in my Thursday Rundown, something must have really stood out. With that said, I would like to thank Alaska Airlines for a terrific experience yesterday. It was the first time I used the airline exclusively to fly across the country and everything from the check in process to the actual flights to the social media interactions left me nothing but impressed. In the past I have used competitors and found myself subjected to rude employees, delays, and cramped/uncomfortable conditions. The customer service and professionalism I received from Alaska will undoubtedly lead me to flying with them again.

Brooks Stadium Expansion – As part of Coastal Carolina University’s upcoming move to join the FBS ranks in the Sun Belt Conference, Brooks Stadium will need to be expanded. Late last week, we released the renderings of what the renovated venue will look like. I must say it looks pretty cool! The stadium will grow from a capacity of 9,000 to 21,000. If you look at the sketches below, the original seats are designated in a light color. The seats that will be added are denoted with a darker color. This is going to be one major transformation!

These are the renderings of the expansion to Brooks Stadium.

I Love My Parents’ Cat, But… – I think Muffin, my parents’ cat, really wanted to make this blog post. I had finished about 75% of this Thursday Rundown (I had just completed my Alaska Airlines section) when she jumped up on my keyboard and ran across pretty much every key. I activated the undo command but I couldn’t recover my work. I had to start all over. A couple minutes ago my friend Chris showed me a way that I could have restored it all but by that time I had already rewritten everything. It is okay Muffin, you are still my favorite cat!!

I never even got a little mad after Muffin walked over my blog post. In fact, we took this selfie immediately afterwards.

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Well, it doesn’t happen very often that I finish a blog post before the lunch hour is over. It sure is nice to be on vacation! Have a great rest of your Thursday everyone and happy holidays! Don’t Blink.