Well, I am just so proud of myself. My one surprise gift for my wife is all set and ready to go. 8 hours of custom iTunes mixes burned to CD and labeled with a nice collage of album artwork with the help of Fireworks and Freehand. I think she's gonna love them, and it will be the one gift that she hasn't picked out for herself already, or even bought and given to me to wrap for her. (Anyone else's wives help you out by buying their own gifts?)

You gotta love shopping like this--or at least I do. I can sit at my trusty Mac and pound on my credit card for a while to get a nice mix of tunes from the Music Store. (I won't admit how much I spent, but let's just say that there were a lot of "Ooooh! Gotta have that one!" moments.) She gets a collection of folk songs that I know she'll like, with plenty of Bonnie Raitt, Joni Mitchell, and Carole King. A 60's and 70's mix with Aretha, Jackson Browne, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, and The Eagles. And a couple of car tunes mixes with "Love Shack" (gotta have Love Shack!), some John Hiatt, and other goodies that I know she likes to sing along with. Oh yeah, and a tasty Tom Petty CD with all her favorites.

It's been fun, and a little nostalgic thinking about all the songs we've enjoyed in our 18 years together, and then digging them up at the Music Store. Some of these songs take me back to those early days when she had a VW convertible and would buzz all over town with the stereo blasting. And even though she drives a mom-mobile these days, it's nice to listen to a song that helps you remember what things were like back then, and that beautiful laughing girl I married.

So, anyone else out there mixing something up for a loved one for Christmas this year? I'd love to hear what songs you've picked out. And it's probably not to late to take your own trip down memory lane and get some music to help you and someone you're close to relive old times.