Well, what do ya know? It's probably the first time ever that I've made a New Years resolution and actually followed through on it! What's funny is that I did not consciously think about meeting this goal before the calendar flips; it just sort-of worked out that way. I have had three long-standing resolutions that I always recycle after ditching them in January of the year prior.

For the longest time, my focus for the New Year was to exercise more and better my diet. That's overrated! The way I see it now; I'm fit enough to do whatever I want and strong enough to carry or open most things, so I'm at peace overall on that one. 

My next recurring resolution has been and will continue to be to do a kickflip on my skateboard. I'm a ways off.... As tough as it has been, even if I'm 65, I won't be giving up on that one! If I could kickflip, ollie some bigger gaps and hit transitions, and grind; I'd be ever so happy. I need to skate more anyways and I'm now closer to the Akron Skate Park, so maybe 2024 will be my year for it! 

My third major resolution that I can finally lay to rest is to quit smoking cigarettes. Done! It is an ongoing battle, however. Not even one is the motto, and I'm approaching a month of just that come Tuesday. So yeah, finally, I successfully did a New Years resolution! 

While we're on the topic, here's a link to a bunch of information on New Years Resolutions including statistics on the most common ones: https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/new-years-resolutions-statistics/. 

Happy New Year from all of us here at Your Country, 94.9 WQMX! 

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars” -Norman Vincent Peale

After work on Wednesday, I went over to my mom's for my "big" family get-together for Christmas. In attendance were my brother who lives locally, my sister and two older nieces who also live locally. Also there was my brother and sister-in-law from California with my younger niece and nephew.

We had a delicious dinner prepared by my mom and then desserts that included Angel Food cake OR Chocolate Chip cookies baked by my sister's younger daughter. She makes some of THE BEST cookies! Somehow we had a few left, so I brought them into work this morning where they are sure to be finished by probably 1:00 this afternoon. haha.

By the way, I need to say an early Happy Birthday to said niece, Riley...she turns 21 on New Year's Eve!!! Happy Birthday, Riley!!!!

On Wednesday morning, Scott and Sarah revealed their Top 5 Songs for 2023, and they've got some awesome picks that you can check out here! Afterwards, Ben McKee joined in the fun with some of his picks in various categories. There were a ton of cool new songs we spun on WQMX throughout the year, and they made some great choices with their favorites. Here I am now following suit, with my Top Ten Songs of 2023!

10. Cowboys and Plowboys -Jon Pardi with Luke Bryan

9. On the Boat Again -Jake Owen

8. I'm In Love -Hailey Whitters

7. IF YOU GO DOWN (I'M GOING DOWN TOO) -Kelsea Ballerini 

6. TRUCK BED -Hardy

5. Watermelon Moonshine -Lainey Wilson

4. I Remember Everything -Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves

3. Wildflowers and Wild Horses -Lainey Wilson

2. Thought You Should Know -Morgan Wallen

1. I'm Not Pretty -Megan Moroney

Evidently, we're huge fans of Lainey Wilson around these parts, and we are so stoked to bring her to Clay's Resort Jellystone Park in June for The Country Fest 2024! Personally, my top artist remains Megan Moroney throughout 2023, though there are plenty of strong contenders otherwise. We played so many great new songs here on WQMX within this past year, and I know I'm excited to see what releases 2024 has in store for us. 

As you can tell by my list, I generally prefer more fun and upbeat songs over deeper more emotional ones, and I'm hoping we get a good mix of all the styles as we truck into the new year. I enjoy where we're at in terms of popular country music, and the direction we're heading as a genre seems bright, if you ask me. We've seen some really cool new artists pop up, and it should be interesting to see which become the next superstars and which are just flashes in the pan. 

I've seen some outstanding contributions in response to Scott and Sarah's Top 5 Picks, and if you'd like to get in on the fun, just drop a comment under WQMX's post on Facebook. While you're there, if you haven't already, consider giving us a follow to always be in the know of what's going on with Your Country, 94.9 WQMX! 

Scott and Sarah released their Top 5 Songs of 2023 this morning.. Click Here!

I'm in for Cherise all week on WQMX. This week with the Country Quiz at 11:15, I have your chance to win a $25 gift card to Sergeant Clean Clean car wash! With 16 area locations, there is one not far from you...what a perfect way to ring in 2024 - with your car nice and clean!

It's our Wash Away 2023 with Sergeant Clean and WQMX.

#50 -Don't Rock The Jukebox - Alan Jackson - 1991

This was Jackson's second number one early in his career.  It was also The Country Song Of The Year from Billboard in 1991, and propelled Alan Jackson to heights not yet seen.  This song solidified Jackson as a real force in Country and as a result of this huge song, he essentially went in on a 17 year run of #1's and top five's that is enviable. This song was immensely popular for about every reason a song is.  It was right on time and it's who Alan Jackson is at his core.  Fans sensed that, and gravitated to him in droves.  He will appear a couple more times on this list as his contribution to us is huge and immeasurable.  But even though this was not his first big hit, it was the one that made him a superstar.  Still gets played, still loved, still a great country song!

My Full Profile On Alan Jackson

For Christmas this year, one thing on my list was a nice pair of studio-quality headphones, and I'm happy to report I got just that! I've been in the radio industry for a good while now and have neglected to upgrade from the budget ones given as standard issue from my college radio station. They did the job, but until tonight, I had no idea how much audio depth I was missing out on. 

With these fancy new headphones, I can hear the layers of instruments and vocals in the songs much more clearly and the full range from low bass notes to crisp trebles. It's even better than sitting in my car with the nice head unit and speakers. I feel like I'm hearing songs for the very first time again now. I'm thrilled!

How clearly I could hear myself actually caught me off guard for my first talk break of the night, and I still can't get over how much better these bad boys are compared to what I had. I feel like I can hear myself think with them on! Seriously though, the clarity in the sound of my own voice is the most noticeable improvement this new pair has over the old. I think this upgrade will help me to continue better my vocal delivery and overall sound on-air. No matter what you do or how long you've done it, I believe there's always room for improvement! 

As a takeaway from this, I suppose I'm suggesting you treat yourself right when it comes to the things you use every day. Maybe you're a line-cook shopping for a new pair of shoes to wear to work, a mechanic purchasing a new tool, or a package handler browsing for some new work gloves. Little things can make all the difference, so if you're able to, go for quality. When I worked in retail, I would use the box cutters provided by the store and would question why people would bring in their own nicer ones from home, but now I get it. 

I want to thank my fiancée for this sweet gift. I was given so many cool things from her and others for which I'm deeply appreciative, including Megan Moroney's Lucky CD, a gnarly R/C car, some nice clothes, a welder, an air-compressor, gift cards, cash, candy, a cordless drill set, and more! I'm blessed for having such great family that bestowed upon me many awesome things. I'm truly grateful. 

I hope you had a good Christmas as well and that Santa brought you everything you wished for. Have a happy New Year and thank you so much for listening to Your Country, 94.9 WQMX!

In case you missed some of my articles this week from WQMX.com  let's get you caught up!

Thanks for reading and listening every day?!

BROWNS - The Blessing

New Year- Long Feature Starts Next Week!

50 Favorites From 40+ Years Total Recap!

BROWNS - Guys Like Joe

Wynn At The Movies And More!

The Browns continue to win and you can start making your playoff plans.  Tonight the Jets come to town for a Thursday Night Game. The players don't like this short week stuff, and I will be glad when it's over and Joe Flacco is still upright and not hurt. The Jets have a great, physical defense that could make things tough on the Browns.  But the Browns should win this game.

Lots of talk on social media about the Browns and Flacco.  Lots of "Too many interceptions,"  and that kind of thing.  Granted, I am not thrilled about those either.  But we're throwing the ball about a thousand times a game and asking a guy who was just Netflixing on his couch to do it.  I'd love to see more balance.  There's also some of "The other QB's were successful too, let's not forget that.."  Truth is, we have forgotten that.  Not because we meant to, it's not top of mind this minute.  Plus, those many of those games were won by the lights out defense.

Be all that as it may, Flacco is here, he's in charge and this is his team right this second. Flacco is the perfect example of what I have felt for years.  I know, he is not the "New kind of QB,"  that's in vogue right now.  A guy that can pass, rush the ball, and make extreme plays that are great for Sportscenter or YouTube, or for some young network play-by-play guy to scream at the top of his lungs some stupid catch phrase he hopes ends up on those platforms for eternity.  Flacco in many people's minds is a throw-back.  Truth is, he's not at all.  He's the kind of guy who wins championships in this league. Big, tall pocket passers who extend a play just enough and most important of all, they stay healthy.  The list of these QB's is long, Brady, Montana, Bradshaw, Manning, Sims, Staubach, Mahomes to a degree, Williams, Elway, Roethlisberger, Favre, Rodgers, ......and Flacco. And a ton more.

The Browns sort of fell into this whole thing.  I'm not at all sold of them thinking Flacco was going to play much, or be this good. Truth is, Flacco has surprised everyone.  But the Browns came into this season with the Superbowl on their minds. And they also came into this season with a big question of how would the guy at the controls play.  And to add to that, a backup that was well over his head.  And another guy that had a limit, signed out of need.  The organization was not fair to any of them or the rest of the team, or us fans.  I was confounded at the time this was their plan.  Then injuries, bad play and a season starting to slip away, they called Flacco when there were ZERO options left to them.

What is happening now has everything to do with knowledge of human beings and I will not give the Browns organization that credit. The PLAYERS were looking for a leader, and with Flacco playing so well, these guys want to follow him.  They bought in, and are going with Joe no matter where this goes. And why not?  He is EXACTLY what this team needed.  It is so clear the PLAYERS were looking for his kind of leadership, and they started following him from the first play of the Rams game.  I also have never seen Stefanski so relaxed and happy as he is now.

How far can this team go?  As far as the great defense will take them.  Sure Flacco is playing well right now, and he does have championship pedigree. I have no doubt that Flacco will play as well as can be expected.  And if he does that, and this defense does what it can do, the Browns are a very tough draw in the playoffs, especially how the AFC is shaking out right now. The road to get to this point has been riddled with bones real difficulty and setbacks and still, here we are.

But when you know guys like Joe, I think the real key is this. Putting the Browns way aside for a minute.  HE has landed right where HE is supposed to be right now, and that's making all the difference.  For any of us in life, it settles us in our center when we know we are in the right place in the world, at the right moment, for the right reasons, with the right person.  And right now, that's the peace Joe Flacco is experiencing.

How on earth, did we get so lucky?

Box Offic4 Results - Aquaman  (28 Million)

#2 – Wonka

#3 - Migration

New Major January Movies -   Night Swim  /  Mean Girls  /  The Beekeeper /  I.S.S. /  The Book Of Clarence

Budget For Aquaman – Was 200 Million

This Weekend –  My 50 Favorites Over 40+ Years  - Year Long Recap Final  - (Link)