Wednesday, July 15, 2009

MY LIFE IS (not) BETTER THAN YOURS!

When I first started reading blogs, I suddenly felt self-conscious about my life. Were my children not adorable enough? Was my home not beautiful enough? Was my camera not expensive enough? Where was all the color in my life? The elements of fashion and design? How about my ideal parenting, cooking, and homemaking skills? And how about those writing chops? Why didn't I pay more attention in my Creative Writing class back in college?

And then, I started my own blog out of pressure from my publicist. It was drudgery at first. Posts were few and far between. Until, I scheduled a benefit concert that I felt very passionate about. I suddenly had a purpose driven desire to promote my guts out in order to get people involved and to raise money all in the name of love.

Something clicked during that time and I understood that most bloggers have the best intentions and there are many who are passionate about child rearing, cooking, homemaking and clever writing. (I, myself have discovered anew my passion for anthropology and I relish learning about different people near and far). If I was feeling at all insecure about my life after reading about the passions of others, then that was my own junk. I find that blogging improves my ability to live in the now and to romanticize the mundane. I appreciate that we can share those moments with one another.

It is never my intention to give off the impression that, "Hey! My life is better than yours!" I do look forward to reading more about your lives along with giving you a peek at mine. So with that, I will leave you with a photo essay of my own home. I hope it inspires you.

xoxo

Mindy

One of my beautiful dining chairs that the Glediator made for me.

The craft room. We take crafts seriously. Obviously.

Our laundry sorting system.

Our exercise/play/sunroom.

The dining area.

Plants I potted myself.

The courtyard. You may be wondering how our tether ball got up in that tree. Well, frankly, I am too.

The end.

31 comments:

  1. Mrs. Mindy Gledhill,

    I found your music through CJane and NieNie, and downloaded it through iTunes immediately. I think you are just wonderful, and refreshingly authentic. Seeing your pics of your house totally sealed the deal for me. Thank you. You completely made my day. You did Mindy!

    -Brandee

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  2. hee hee! Love to see that you are "real" like the rest of us! I agree blogging (and well, let's face it, Stephanie Nielson) really do help you to romanticize the normal and mundane of being a homemaker.

    And...I'd like to admit that my laundry room looks like this REGULARLY!

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  3. Mindy... bless your heart for posting this. Really. Because like you, I am one of those people who often reads blogs and then spends the next hour (or day) picking apart myself and all my faults. My house looks a lot like yours. It was hard for me to blog at first... but I've learned something through my blogging, now that I have a couple of years of it under my belt... and I wanted to share that...

    I absolutely LOVE looking back at all my old blog entries because it helps me realize that maybe I'm not such a bad parent after all. We DO do fun things. We go places. We enjoy life. We try to take moments to see the beauty in each day. Looking back on all these entries makes me realize this. It helps me feel like I'm not such a bad mom after all.

    It also helped me realize that all the other bloggers out there have their faults too. Yeah, maybe they have pristine homes, Martha-esque style, writing capabilities, and mad photography skills. But you know what? They have their demons too. And just as I don't focus on my demons in my blog, they don't either. We don't see what they face in the quiet moments. We don't know what goes on behind the blog window. They have their trials the same as we do.

    I so appreciate your honesty. I appreciate that you strip away the celebrity facade and help remind us that we are all just humans... brothers and sisters, each with different talents, who have similar goals in life and are just trying to muddle through the best we know how! Don't we all really want the same things? Don't we all cherish the simple things... good health, happy families, well adjusted children, and healthy relationships?

    This blog post meant the world to me today... you have no idea how much it has helped my life perspective today! Thank you!

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  4. well it's good to know that underneath all the amazing talent is a "real" person... you are great just the way you are! And the fact that your house is actually lived in is a refreshing change from the houses where you feel like you can't even sit down without breaking something. My favorite is your plants.... I don't even bother with them because I know I'm just going to kill them anyway :) Happy Wednesday

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  5. Fire engine underpants- my favorite!

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  6. I don't believe any of it. Will you please post a picture of yourself sitting on the can or waxing your upper lip?

    M'kay?

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  7. Nice, Mindy. I love the house shots, but I'm more horrified at how MANY rooms you have in your home than the messes. If you saw a picture of my house, it would say, family room/kitchen...and that would be the end...I am jealous!

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  8. How funny! I love this post! Well done my friend!! (I have always known that you were the real deal. I haven't once thought you were doing the gaggy braggy thing. Your honesty is refreshing.)

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  9. I love this..thank you for bringing your truth to the world..sometimes I feel embarassed by all the clothes & clutter strewn across the floors when I'm taking pics of my kiddos for the blog. I can't help but compare my home to pristine polished palaces. Now I realize it is a beautiful thing..and I totally appreciated this post. I love your music too. You are an inspiration!

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  10. just when I think I couldn't love you more........you pull this!
    frankly awesome.

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  11. I am laughing out loud. So funny! Thanks for the honest look into your home. All of our homes look like that on most days. I did a post once about our laundry room. At the end of the post I let the readers know that they can still like me because all of the PILES of dirty clothes were out in the hall so I could take pictures.

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  12. Mindy- I love reading your blog!! Your boys have gotten so big since I saw them last and they are so cute!! Would you mind if I put a link to your blog, on my blog? I heard you are going back to school, how is that going? We need to get together sometime with Pat and Ryan and go to dinner to catch up.

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  13. Thank you for all the awesome comments. You people make me laugh.

    Jessica, just so you know, I am having my upper lip lasered. Perhaps I should document that procedure for you. Adios, waxing.

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  14. Mindy, you inspire me in so many ways! Thank you again for being you. Many people get lost in the fictitious world that people think others have.
    Your the best!!
    This post made my day!

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  15. I think I love you. You are my kinda gal. Haha Thanks for the reality dose today. I feel the same way about my blog most days. I think, what do I write that anyone would give a crap about? And then I remember that I started the blog for ME! And then I think of things that I want to remember about me and my family and our lives. Oh and BTW, just my 2 cents worth here but I am thrilled you are not a country singer. I like that you are not in a "category" but just a great vocalist and performer.

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  16. I loved, loved, loved this post!! I think you are amazing, and I love all of your posts, but this one made my day.

    ~Amy

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  17. Mindy, this is seriously one of my favorite posts EVER. Good for you!

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  18. Mindy, I spoke to BYUH today about a possible concert and they are thrilled! But, you gotta email me, so I can give you more info: megannaihe@hotmail.com. Love you!

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  19. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! This was great. My house is looking a bit like yours today too. Ah, it makes me feel so much better to know that even great bloggers can have chaos.

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  20. LOL LOL!!!!!!! Hey, how did you get thoes pictures of my home???? LOL LOL!! You crack me up!

    Cama

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  21. Hey, we do our laundry the SAME way. How awesome is that? This post made me cry happy tears of laughter and joy!

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  22. I love you people. LOVE each and every one of you. I thought maybe I was the only one that lived like this.

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  23. Bravah for the mundane and the reality of your life and mine. Sure, you can sing like the dickens and I can cook like the dickens, but we both have real lives. God gives us gifts of messy play rooms to keep us grounded. I am about to throw the blog world the biggest curve ball of reality in a few days. Like how I had to bail my husband out of the slammer. The genius missed his court date. I kind of like showing people my real live life because that's the truth of it all.

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  24. Dear Mindy, I am so glad you have a blog! I saw you in concert at BYU two years ago, and I absolutely fell in love with your music. I listened to your CD every day for a few months, and it brought so much healing into my life. Thank you.

    Now, after seeing this post, I am convinced, you are one amazing person.

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  25. Awesome!
    I love it. Thanks for being "real" and a wide world of "fake"!
    :)

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  26. Chiming in with the others. Thank you for posting these pictures and for admitting that you are 'real'. Truly amazing people ... especially women, always are. Love you!

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  27. Hi Mindy! I came across your blog from my friends' - Ryan & Brittany Tilby. I just have to tell you how much I adore you - your talent, your spirit, your sincerity. I loved your photo essay. After seeing your laundry system, I think we may be kindred spirits. :) Thank you for sharing. I would love to work with you sometime. Keep blessing lives!

    Sincerely,
    Lyndsi Houskeeper

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  28. love it... plants come to my home for hospice care as well!

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