My friend Claudio's 9-year-old daughter, Carmen, recently had a birthday party in New York City. I asked Sara if she had any information on something that might be appropriate to get her. Carmen likes Mamma Mia and Madonna. At first I thought I'd get her a Cyndi Lauper CD. Then I texted Jeff to see if he had any ideas. He was with a friend that recommended Mika's album Life in Cartoon Motion.

I checked it out on iTunes. Yes, it's appropriate for a 9 year old girl. A lot of the songs of bubble-gum pop, it's catchy, it's upbeat. And the album cover is beautiful. It was so enjoyable, I got it for myself as well.

Apparently, I'm just a 9 year old girl at heart. Who cares...some of the songs on the album are too fun to worry about such things.