Abraham Lincoln statues at New Salem I - Petersburg, IL

Man without a face

I started this charcoal drawing in late December. I completed the man in about an hour, then the holidays happened. Over the weekend, I sat down with my sketchbook and finished it. I love how it turned out.

Books read in 2015

The Bridge at Chappaquiddick, Jack Olsen
And Then I Cried: Stories of a Mortuary NCO, Justin Jordan
Art on the Block, Ann Fensterstock

Currently Reading: The Murder of Marilyn Monroe: Case Closed, Jay Margolis & Richard Buskin

Coach K

USA Today Sports/Anthony Gruppuso

Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Blue Devils men's basketball coach, was the first Division I men's coach to reach 1000 wins Sunday. Coach K's Blue Devils came from behind to defeat St. John's Red Storm 77-68 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Links to a few videos about Coach K: legendary career, win 1,000 and on milestone.

Super Bowl

The teams for the Super Bowl is set. It will be the defending World Champions Seattle Seahawks against the New England Patriots.

To reach the Super Bowl, Seattle overcame a 19-7 deficit against Green Bay Packets to tie the game at 22 in the fourth quarter. The game went to overtime. Seattle won the coin toss and drove down the field to score the winning touchdown. Seattle defeated Green Bay 28-22.

In the AFC Championship game, the New England Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts 45-7. The Colts were only able to score once in the second quarter. Tom Brady threw for 226 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. LeGarrette Blount had 30 carries for 148 yards and three touchdowns.

Super Bowl XLIX will be played on Sunday, February 1 at 6:30 pm ET on NBC. Unfortunately for me, I can only watch the first half hour of the game. I will be going to bed at 7 pm because I have to work the next morning at 4 am. I don't even remember the last time I watched an entire Super Bowl. Oh well. I can always watch SportsCenter for highlights of the game.

Oiselle meet up

Photo courtesy of @ajbgillespie

I drove up to East Lansing Saturday to meet up with a few Oiselle ladies.

I had lunch with Lauren, Andrea, Alicia, Anne and Courtney at the Michigan State Hall of Fame Cafe. I've had dinner with Andrea and Alicia before, so I was excited to meet Lauren, Anne and Courtney.

Everyone comes from a different running background and it was fun to talk about goals and upcoming races. I love how running and Oiselle bonded us quickly.

Hope to see all of these lovely ladies again soon.

KG

One of my favorite high school teachers, KG, passed away suddenly last week. When I heard the news, I was shocked. KG was always active and fit. I would have considered him still young, he was 72 when he died.

Until I saw the year he was born, I forgot that my Dad and KG were born the same year. My Dad died in 1998 when he was 56 and KG passed away last Wednesday at 72. Life isn't always fair and you never know when your time is up.

The family decided to hold private services for KG. I was saddened that I couldn't say goodbye one final time. I will always have fond memories of KG. He was a great history teacher, track coach and person. He is someone I will never forget.

Rest In Peace.

Lights Before Christmas IV - Toledo, OH

Books read in 2015

The Bridge at Chappaquiddick, Jack Olsen
And Then I Cried: Stories of a Mortuary NCO, Justin Jordan

Currently Reading: Art on the Block, Ann Fensterstock

National Championship

USA Today/Matthew Emmons

The first ever College Football National Championship game took place Monday in Arlington, Texas. The Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Oregon Ducks 42-20.

It seems like everyone was happy with the playoff. Now that the playoff went well with four teams, it seems like the playoff could be expanded to six or eight teams. The playoff games were exciting. Division II and III have a playoff, why can't Division I do the same?

Coach Harbaugh

Jim Harbaugh was announced as University of Michigan head football coach on December 30, 2014.

Harbaugh was recently the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. He lead the team to back-to-back NFL West Division titles and a spot in the 2012 Super Bowl. Harbaugh's record with the 49ers was 44-19-1. Before coaching the 49ers, Harbaugh was the coach for Stanford University Cardinal. At Stanford, his record was 29-21. Stanford won the Orange Bowl in 2011 defeating Virginia Tech 40-12.

Harbaugh played in 177 NFL games. He was drafted to Chicago Bears in the first round in the 1987 NFL draft. After Chicago, he also played for the Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, San Diego Chargers and Carolina Panthers. Harbaugh threw for 26,288 yards and 129 touchdowns in his career that ended in 2001.

As a quarterback at the University of Michigan, 1983-1986, he lead the Wolverines to a Rose Bowl in 1987, where they were defeated by Arizona State 22-15,  and was third in the Heisman Trophy voting.

Harbaugh has had success everywhere he has coached. Hoping that the 2015 Michigan football season will be better then 2014.

Favorite photos of 2014