Each of us on my team at work are submitting 3 of our favorite songs to be placed on a compilation cd for the office. We'll then guess which songs belonged to which colleague.
Well, my taste of music spans acappella, hip hop, country, pop, etc. So, I started a little list of some of my all-time favorite songs from my iTunes library. I thought I'd post a list of some of the ones that make my all-time favorite list.

Lead Me to Rest- Acappella (Wayburn Dean on lead)
Heart of the Matter -India.Arie (cover)
Man in the Mirror -Michael Jackson
Smooth Criminal -Michael Jackson
Hide and Seek -Imogen Heap
What Goes Around -Justin Timberlake
I'm Movin On -Rascal Flatts
When God Ran -performed by Aaron Herman on Acappella Classics II
California Love -Tupac and Dr. Dre
Moody's Mood for Love -performed by Elliott Yamin
The Way I Are -Timbaland
Have You Really Ever Loved a Woman -Bryan Adams
Hurricane -Mindy Smith
Yesterday -performed by Boys II Men
Realize -Colbie Caillat
Landslide -performed by the Dixie Chicks
There is Nothing Like You -performed by Shane and Shane
Whenever You Call -Mariah Carey and Brian McKnight
Open Arms performed by -Mariah Carey
Home -Michael Buble
Many Rivers to Cross -performed by Annie Lennox on Idol Gives Back
Water Runs Dry -Boys II Men
So Hard for Me to Say I'm Sorry -Chicago (and I like the version with Az Yet)
Arms of Love -performed by Kutless
Wonderful, Merciful, Savior -performed by Selah


I could probably add another 25 songs, but these are the ones I picked on my first pass through my library. I'd probably have to add "O Sacred Head" and some Parachute Band songs in there as well. (oh yeah, and an Alison Krauss song) (ok . . . and Surfin USA and La Bamba were my favorite songs as a kid)

13 weeks

This second picture is a 3D rendering. It's not precise, so don't be alarmed by the baby's alien head. The doctor said "Oh, how cute, the baby has its legs crossed at the ankles." The part on the right is the umbilical cord, not a leg. Dr. said all things look good so far!!

7 year itch?

No way! This weekend we celebrated our 7th anniversary and the last as a family of 2. We left on Sunday and headed to Palm Desert for a couple days. Yes, we are those crazy people who actually go to the desert in the summer. It is pretty quiet during the blazing days of summer and we like to stay at a certain resort where we can get massages and hang by the pool (as long as we can stand it!), all for bit cheaper given the off season. The other reason I like to go this time of year is because I have a client to visit out there and don't like to make the drive by myself, so we turned it into a mini vacation.

We had a great time despite the ongoing "evening sickness" and consequential early nights in. I am blessed to have married my bestest friend. We have always said that we vacation well together because we "hang" well. Spa time helps, but so does lack of responsibility for even a short time. :) Looking forward to many more fun years together! Love you, honey!

I've had several people ask me "How is Sarah feeling?"
Well, so far she has not had any morning sickness, but she tends to say "I don't feel good" around 7:00pm or so. Some days it's earlier and some its later. But so far, she's not tossing her cookies.

The best part is the food that she is craving. As most of you know, Sarah tends to be a very health-concious eater. I however am not. For the past 7 years, Sarah has had a major influence on my eating habits (and I have corrupted her only a little bit). For some reason the canned reference to pregnant women and their cravings is "pickles and ice cream". Well, Sarah definitely has not craved anything rediculous like that. What she has been craving are things that are not-so-healthy. Being the supportive husband that I am, I simply remind her that the doctor said she should probably listen to her body and eat what she craves. (Kind of funny that doctors don't say that ANY other time in your life and I as a man will NEVER have my doctor tell me that.) He said if she craves candy, she should eat candy.

Since Sarah has been craving food that I have typically enjoyed my whole life, I told her that I must have been pregnant for the past 28 years.

Just last night, I'm sitting at my computer working on my thesis and Sarah is about to go to bet and she comes into the office with a crazed smile on her face saying, "Hey Al, you know what sounds sooooo good right now? Ruffles and french onion dip. Doesn't that sound so good?" I asked her if she really wanted me to go get her ruffles and french onion dip right then at about 9:45? She said no. I'm sure that will change in a few days or weeks. But really, I know my wife so well that I knew if she did get that food in her system that late at night, she would then say, "Now I feel worse, why did you let me eat that."

I'm sure we'll end up having those Ruffles and dip sometime in the next 12 to 48 hours.

Due to arrive March 1st

click to enlarge