Surprise Double Proposal Adds Needed Joy To The Air

The video in this post has gone viral, and so you might have seen it, but since it's so joyous and so much fun, it's worth putting in this here blog thingy.

Two years ago, Jessa Gillaspie and Becky McCabe went on their first date at the Memphis Zoo's Zoo Brew event.

The pair fell in love and the rest is history.

When they recently heard the Zoo Brew event was happening again, they decided to go, with the friends they were with the first time.

McCabe thought the outing at the zoo would be the perfect time to propose marriage to Gillaspie. So she did so. Only Gillaspie had a bit of a surprise waiting for McCabe.

Watch:

Whirling Gorilla Is Just What You Need To Improve Your Mood

This video went totally viral today.  

It's Zola the gorilla having a blast in a kiddie pool at the Dallas Zoo. Looks like he's breakdancing.

I'm showing you the one without sound effects, but it's also fun to watch the other one in which Zola is choregraphed to the song "Maniac" from the movie "Flashdance."

For the purests, like me, here's the version without a soundtrack.

Enjoy!

Jack Russell Dog Fails At Dog Competition But Wins At Life

Olly the Jack Russell terrier suffers a face plant during the Crofts
Dog Show skills competition, but who cares? He had the
time of his life, and delighted all of us. 

The recent Crufts Dog Show highlighted the discipline and agility of plenty of dogs

One dog, however, wasn't so disciplined, but gawd what a delight!

Olly he Jack Russell terrier really seemed to be having the time of his life at Crufts as he raced around the course, randomly performing some tricks, running in circles at other times.

During one leap, he landed with a a nasty face plant, but got right back up and gleefully ran around some more.

He didn't win, but he sure delighted the crowd. I love how happy he makes the announcer sound as he did the play by play.

Olly didn't win the competition, no sir. But he won all our hearts and he's winning the game of life.  We could all learn some lessons from Olly.

Watch:

Dad Dancing With Bride At Wedding Is The Distraction We All Need

Mikayla Phillips and her father, Nathan Ellison
put on an epic performance at Phillips' recent wedding.  

I know there are about three gazillion YouTube videos of people dancing joyously at weddings, some choreographed, some not.

But since we need a distraction from current events, this one shows bride Mikayla Phillips dancing with her father Nathan Ellison at her October 8 wedding in Utah.

The guy has GREAT moves, and is not shy about making a happy spectacle of himself.

ABC News says Phillips is a trained dancer, but her father is not. They rehearsed for just a week before the big day. Not bad for such a short training time.

It's quite a rigorous performance, too, so it's good that Nathan appears to have the stamina to handle it.

The takeaway: When in doubt, dance.

A Ridiculous But Oddly Happy Video For Your Friday.

The elderly lady in pink dances and parties it up
like a boss with the odd but fun guy in gold.  

Over in England, I guess they know how to have a good time.

In case you haven't seen it yet, this viral video shows an odd scene in Brighton, England, in which a guy in what looks almost like skin tight gold lame dances with a bent over elderly woman.

The woman is having such a good time you can't help but enjoy the music along with her.  She Twists and Shouts with the best of them.

The guy in gold is identified as Pablo Woodward, who calls himself an "actor and party-starter" who busks in Brighton, England.

Passersby look a little mystified in the video, but oh well, they don't know how to have a good time.

The video has racked up more than half a million views on YouTube alone, and has been seen in a lot of other places, including more than 3.6 million views on Facebook.. Maybe the video has been spread too far and wide, but I can't resist it anyway. If only for the elderly woman's sense of fun and spirit.

Watch, and happy Friday!

Virginia McLaurin, Age 106, Dances With Obamas At The White House

A vivacious Virginia McLaurin, age 106, visits
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle
Obama at the White House recently. 

OK, maybe I'm a day late and a dollar short with this video that's been making the rounds, but I can't resist sharing it anyway.

As many of you might have seen already, Virginia McLaurin, age 106, recently visited President and Mrs. Obama at the White House.

The three ended up having a little bit of a dance party, which looked totally fun.

The reason I'm sharing it is because at age 53, I am exactly half this woman's age, and I hope I can keep something close to her joie de vivre as I keep growing older.

I hope she makes us all want to keep going.

According to the Washington Post:

"With the leader of the free world in one hand, and Michelle Obama in the other, McLaurin danced with sheer and utter joy, shaking her hips like a 16-year-old and flashing a smile as bright as the camera flashes going off all around her.

'She's 106,?' the president asked incredulously.

"No, you are not," scoffed the first lady before adding: 'I want to be like you when I grow up.'"

Don't we all.

McLaurin, who is African-American, was at the White House to celebrate Black History Month.

Says the Washington Post:

"'I tell you, I am so happy,' she said, looking up at Obama before turning to the first lady. 'A black president, yah, and his black wife.'"

And then they danced some more.

In an age where anything touching anything political goes wildly negative, it is so nice to see such pure joy in Washington.

Here's the viral video:

Aretha Franklin Honors Carole King In BEST Possible Way

Aretha Franklin belts out "(You Make Me Feel Like) A
Natural Woman" at the recent Kennedy Center Honors.
Carole King, who co-wrote the song, was clearly
overwhelmed with joy by this performance.

If you don't shed a tear of joy while watching the video at the bottom of this post, then you're not human.

Carole King was recently feted at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors. During this, Aretha Franklin appeared on stage so she could perform one of her signature songs "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," which King co-wrote.

Just my opinion, but this song is one of the best pop songs ever written. And King totally deserved the Kennedy honors.  

Of course, Franklin received the Kennedy honor back in 1994, so that's another thing she and King have in common.

In the video, we see Franklin in full diva mode with a floor length fur coat, performing the song like the boss that she is. At age 73, Franklin has lost none of her touch.

King is also 73, and she's as vibrant as ever.

Carole King (arms outstretced) along with Barack and
Michelle Obama experience the joy of listening to
Aretha Franklin at the recet Kennedy Center Honors. 

The beauty of the video is the reactions. President Obama is moved to tears, and Carole King is absolutely beside herself with joy, and awe at Franklin.

I just love Franklin and King and think they are the best in the music business. To see this interaction between these two greats is just stunning.

To nobody's surprise, the video of Aretha King performance of "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" has totally gone viral today.  

This is one of those videos that, when you're in a bad mood, or the news is so bad it's overwhelming, or you just need a shot of adrenaline and courage and joy, you turn to this video.

It made me so happy, and it will for you, too:

Trouble The Dog Gets His Christmas Wish

Hard to see in this image, but a little dog
is going to like what's in the big gift he's about to open

I don't know about you, but I sure was happy with the Christmas gifts I got this year.

However, I don't think it's possible to be happier with a Christmas gift than the dog named Trouble, in the video below.  

His human companion wrapped a special, very personal gift that the dog then opened under the Christmas tree.

I think Trouble liked what he got. Just a video to make you smile on a gloomy winter's day:

So This Happened In Belgium

Seems the woman in this photo liked
the beatboxer performing in Brussels.  

Ammar Dafri, also known as Power Beat, is a beatboxer with quite a fan base.

For the uninitiated, beatboxing is a type of music in which performers use their voice to replicate drums and other percussion images.

Anyway, not long ago, Power Beat set up shop in a Brussels, Belgium square.

An elderly woman happened along. Did she like Power Beat's musical style? Judge for yourself. (Spoiler: This is one woman who would be a blast to hang around with.)

Here's the VERY fun video:

My Yearly Christmas Tradition: Darlene Love Sings The Holiday (This Time From Yankton, S.D.!)

Here's my annual tradition that I've presented in this blog for each of the past four years or so now: Darlene Love's annual performance of "Christmas Baby (Please Come Home)" on David Letterman.

Husband Jeff Modereger gets his ducks in a
row as he decorates the family home
 for Christmas

The Darlene Love performance is at the bottom of this post. Scroll down later to see and hear the  mix of emotions, but mostly joy, her performance brings.

I'm 51 years old and this will be the first Christmas I've ever spent outside Vermont.

Yep, I'm reporting live from Yankton, South Dakota. I'm with the in-laws, as my husband Jeff and I drove cross country from Vermont to the Great (cold) Plains to be with family.

This is awesome. The Moderegers are definitely into Christmas. My mood is like the closing scene of the Grinch, when my bah-humbug heart grows three sizes bigger, breaking the frame of the picture of my holiday intoxicated heart.

Sure, I miss Christmas with my relatives in Vermont, but we'll have a nice celebration with them when we get back to the Green Mountain State. So it's all good.

The Moderegers of Yankton love Christmas traditions, and now I'm into it, too. When he arrives a couple days before Christmas, Jeff always decorates the house perfectly with his professional, caring set designer eye.

Jeff manages to turn a pleasant sun room at the Modereger house into a holiday wonderland within an hour. It's like he waves some sort of magic wand or something.

The Modereger men all wear red sweater vests on the holiday, so I have mine on.  (The official family Christmas portrait with the red vests happened this afternoon. ) The family Christmas tree is loaded with decorations and mementos that date back through decades of Modereger family history and lore.

The family all gathers at the home of patriarch and matriarch Don and Lois Modereger, and it's a scene of happy chaos. Booze is stored in the chilly garage, at the ready for the daily parties.  We gather at tables and on hastily arranged chairs, and talk into the night.  The Moderegers tend to be smart and funny, which always makes for a good time.

Jeff has his first face to face meeting with
Poppy, our grand niece, at this week's
Modereger family Christmas gathering.  

It's mostly stories of Modereger family history, the clan's happy moments, it's revered dearly departed grandparents and uncles, the past teenage escapades,  the quirks and talents that make the family so cool.

I love listening to these stories. Some are ones I've heard before, and I never get sick of hearing them. Other stories are fresh news to me. With each story, I feel closer to the family.

Jeff and I are starting to add our own stories to the mix, to be woven into the fabric of Modereger family history.  We hope our stories are as interesting and fun as the rest of the family's.

At night, exhausted from the festivities, we slump in spare beds, in easy chairs, on couches to rest, and then do it all again the next day.

We've come to this South Dakota house, from Minnesota, from Kansas, from Vermont to celebrate what we've got. We've heeded Darlene Love's call, and baby, we've come home for Christmas.

And I couldn't be in a better place right now.  I wish all of you the best of Christmas. Especially the Moderegers in South Dakota and the Sutkoskis in Vermont. You're all awesome.

Take it away, Darlene!!

A Siberian Husky Named Butch Tells You How To Behave During Autumn

Today is the first full day of official autumn, so you're probably figuring out how to enjoy this time of year.

Fortunately, we have a very helpful Siberian Husky named Butch, who gained YouTube fame in showing us how it's done. Here's his instructional video. Enjoy!!

Pure Joy: A Green Summer Field, A Little Girl, 14 German Shepherds

I just HAD to post this video because of the pure, simple joy involved. (Found it today on Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish)

A still from the most joyous and pure
video I've seen in ages

It shows a green field in the middle of summer, somewhere in Norway. A gleeful little girl, age 5, dressed pretty in pink is cavorting in the field, shreiking delightedly as 14 German shepherds join in the fun.

What makes this video perfect is it contains only that one emotion: Joy. The kid is totally un-selfconscious. She's living in the moment. So are the German shepherds. And the living for all of them is perfect.

We should all be so lucky as to be that little girl. Or those dogs. But at least we get a taste of it. It's an instructional video on how to live.

So thank you, little girl and German shepherds for the lesson. I'll watch this repeatedly, thanks. Especially when I need an emotional upper and some perspective. I hope you will watch,  too.

Dancing Nana, 88, Says She Can Dance All Fxxxing Day

The video in this post has gone totally viral in the past five days, making this 88 year old "Nana" as she called, almost as world famous and as beloved as the beyond compare Betty White.

And why not? A relative comes to pick her up for a car trip. The song "Runaround Sue" is blasting on the radio, and Nana, on her way to the car, dances all the way. Her attitude is infectious, for sure, and you'll feel good watching it. Better than pharmaceuticals, I have to say.

When the song finishes, she wants it played again. The young woman in the car complies. When it ends again, Nana tells us, "I could dance all fucking day." Listen to it, near the end of the video, if you don't believe me.

Anyway, here's the delightful video: