Frolicsome Fun & Food

This past weekend, I was chatting with Flyboy and he mentioned I should watch the Gonna Get Over You video by Sara Bareilles. Apparently, he saw it while he was working out at the gym and he thought of me. Aww, how sweet! 

Note: I have a slight girl crush on Sara Bareilles. I think she's adorbs! She fits that adorkable and fun personality that's oh-so endearing to me. She and Ben Folds are the primary reason I watch The Sing Off. Yes, I went there. I'm not crazy about reality singing competitions, but her goofy and somewhat awkward sense of humor, along with Ben's nerdy coolness, was enough to suck me in. Anyone else waste two hours each Monday night on this show? Don't act like you're better than this. 

After watching the video, I realized why he encouraged me to You Tube it. I have this thing about grocery stores. So many people hate going grocery shopping. You look around and people seem stressed and miserable. Why isn't anyone smiling? This might have something to do with growing up with a mother that would chat with anyone and everyone. If you remember correctly, she's also the mom that would break out in song or dance if the music was right. I don't know if it has something to do with the fact that I miss my mom, or if I've grown up to appreciate the joy she manages to spread to absolute strangers. It's probably a mixture of both. Anywho, I enjoy grocery shopping. I like the process of creating a menu, a list, getting out my Baggus, etc. That's Type A.

When we lived in a small border town in Texas, it was my main source of entertainment each week. I thoroughly enjoyed my weekly trip to the HEB (Here Everything's Better - So TX!). It was also during this time that my sister advised me to watch a mockumentary called American Shopper that takes place in our college town of Columbia, MO. It documents one man's attempt at beginning an unlikely sport of aisling. Say what? Aisling is played in a supermarket. According to the website, "Competitors with shopping carts are given a list of products and must collect them all, in a limited amount of time, by performing choreographed routines set to music. Judges score the routines in various categories. The winner is the person who can ‘shop’ for all the products most impressively." Watch the full movie on Hulu here. Quirky, yes. Disappointing, no. Intrigued? Here's the trailer.

It may be a bit random, but I think tedious life tasks like grocery shopping could be so much more buoyant and light hearted than we make them. I often joked about bringing aisling to Swell Rio and dreamt about what my routine might be like. Of course, I really only shared these ideas with my family. They understand my crazy cakes personality. After watching Sara's music video and being reminded of American Shopper, I thought this was worthy of a blog post. You may think I've gone off the deep end (again). Don't worry, apparently there's a bunch of other people who agree with me. Take a look at The Levity Project --  a social movement creating change through public acts of play, laughter, and celebration. How fun is this? Apparently, one of the groups brought a three minute musical to a grocery store in Queens. It may seem a bit silly, but the choreography and music brought on many smiles. Still not convinced? Take a look at the Levity Project's latest video of grocery store dancers across the United States. If this video doesn't make you smirk, you really need to stop reading this blog. There's no helping you here, honey!

Why not express the joy that's within us? 

Here's an idea of what my imaginary grocery store dance experience might look like...

There you have it! You're cordially invited to Type A's grocery dance party. Looks like a blast, right? Think of the videos above next time you're piling groceries into your cart. If you don't break out into a random jig, at least smile at a stranger. When I make my weekly trip to the supermarket, I'll be dancing in my mind. Hmm... Maybe Sara Bareilles would like to join me next time? Could we wear matching cardigans instead of leather jackets? Definitely. Oh, and there will be lots of twirling. This girl loves a good twirl. 

I almost didn't use this image because its is used incorrectly. Um, where's the appropriate apostrophe?
Grammar faux pas! Yikes.

A special thanks to Flyboy for inspiring this post. 

Now you've all been exposed to another level of nutty. You suddenly feel normal, right?

Happy Monday!

Toodles,

ANF

P.S. Sorry about all of the videos. I just figured it was the best way to convey the impromptu bliss that can be spread in life's most basic tasks.