Hello! How Are You? My Darling. I do Adore.

This morning I woke up at 6:30am.

I know, I'm stunned too. If I wake before 9am it means something extra special.

And it was...for two reasons.

My freshman year room roomie from BYU was in town visiting her sister. Yipee!!! In town, meaning, an hour and some change, depending on traffic. I haven't seen her since my wedding in 2001. She is a blessing in my life.

Freshman year at BYU - Go Cougars - Fall 1995

Of course...since she technically, was in my neck of the woods, that meant I would visit bearing gifts of food. My morning included a shower, making a pasta salad, cookies and cupcakes for Bimi (her nickname).

Ang (Bimi's big sis - who was that cool sis at college too), QS, Bimi 2010

Due to my genes, I was running late. About a half hour in fact. I forgot to factor in time for frosting, and the filling for the cupcakes. Whoops. Then I had forgotten that hormones had gotten the better of my face below my nose and right under my bottom lip. They were disastrous, so I had to cover them up. (stop staring) Sometimes, hormones really kick my bum.


I quickly then mailed off some thank you notes for all the birthday love I received, and I opened up my own mailbox to discover the second treat of the day.



I received an advanced copy of the Marvelous Mindy Gledhill's new album, 'Anchor', to review. DUDE! Me! Can you believe it? Yeah, me neither.

First off, I am a sucker for clever, beautiful packaging. Mindy Gledhill's CD layout and design was spot-on with the vibe of her album. Creative guru, Jed Wells did a fantastic job putting it together, and Wendy Whitacre, pixie-winged photographer of Blue Lily, really has an eye for memorable images.


On to the music, baby! We needed some new tunes so I immediately opened the adorable package and slipped the disc into the car's system.

Then, I drove.

Mindy Gledhill won me with the first track, California. I love living in California. I love the sea salt air, the sleepy towns, boardwalks, sun and sand. Mindy's voice is delightfully distinct. Too bad I can't pull an Ursula charm on her.... love this chorus "pack your bags and lock your door/I'll take you places you've not been before/all I've ever wished to do is/travel through this life/with you." I can't stop singing this ...frankly, I don't want to stop!


I'm a sunny, breezy, beachy, ocean kind of a gal, and these songs... these songs should be playing on every boardwalk up and down the west coast.

As we went through track by track on our short road trip, all I wanted to do was eat cupcakes, dressed in a tutu, twirling up and down a beach, as the sun lazily stretches along the horizon, and the waves crash so that the spray makes my lips taste salty. (see pictures of my girls w/tutus, wands and cupcakes... "oh, that's why..." "Si, Senorita")


I love the way Mindy lingers on certain syllables as she sings. The lilt of her clear, pure voice is gorgeous. I enjoyed the words in track two, Crazy Love "it's silly to think/that I'm on the brink of falling right off my rocker/ ... I'm a definition of obsessive compulsive crazy in love."

I was also thinking that Mindy and/or the adorable, Krista Maurer, her PR gal, should send a few copies to the So You Think You Can Dance (#SYTYCD) folks. For reals. I can see a red balloon attached to a dancer as they perform to track three, Anchor. (When that happens can I tag along?)



Track five, All About Your Heart made tears well up in my eyes at these lyrics "it's not about your scars/it's all about your heart." Whether our scars are visible or invisible ... this line, this song really moved me. Thank you Mindy... thank you from those of us with scars inside, or out.

Woah... didn't mean to get deep.

Of course, on this road trip my girly girls were in tow. My oldest, the five-year-old asked me to repeat track six, All the Pennies over and over. Glad that the CD is filled with songs my girls love, and that I love too.

My heart and soul are both part Hawaiian, so hearing the ukulele on Mindy's CD made me think of untouched beaches, fresh, sweet breezes and delicious food.


Mindy is a mother, in addition to filling out the role of singer/songwriter and general do-gooder. I love that she's incorporated songs every parent would desire for their babies. In Whole Wide World "doesn't matter what the future brings/I'm going to live a crazy dream/I want to hold the whole wide world/right here in my open hands/maybe I'm just a little girl/a little girl with great big plans" I hope that future is in store for my girls.

Hourglass also embodies a parent's point of view, "when you reach for the stars/don't forget who you are/please don't turn around and grow up way too fast." These are songs that are sweet, incredibly fun, and inspiring.

"Hello./How are you?/My darling.../today" in track ten, I Do Adore is so catchy. There's no way you'd have a bad day if people would sing that greeting the way Mindy can. She has a tickle-your-fancy way of singing simple phrases that make them shine.

I don't know about you...but I am headed to the beach. Ciao!

all photos of Mindy borrowed from MindyGledhill.blogspot.com (CLICK)

Just so you know: I was asked to review an advanced copy by Mindy Gledhill's lovely PR gal, Krista. I was not compensated otherwise. All opinions are really my own...so dude...don't litigate me...or, no cupcakes for you!