As I started to walk to my car, I saw the personalized license plate YEH TOM on the back of an SUV. Luckily! The owner, was walking towards it then started to load his two Toddlers into the vehicle.

I told him his license plate was great! He told me it was his name. I said: YEAH! TOM!
He said: ‘The first part is my LAST name.’ I said: ‘YEH’ is your name! He happened to be Asian-American.

I said: Wow! What a great attitude, wit and sense of humor! YEAH! TOM!
*Laugh out loud!

Life! It’s ALL in HOW you LOOK at it! What a great representation of looking at life with a PHresh Outlook!

His license plate could be a CHEER!
His license plate could be a blending of cultural names no matter how you looked at it!

YEAH! TOM! for helping people to DRIVE THEMSELVES HAPPY!

Look Out! It’s LIFE! With a PHresh Outlook!

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.com
Living Life! and Laughing Often!

It’s been an ‘interesting couple years’ to say the least! I make use of my healthy socialization, self-esteem boosting SMILE CAMPAIGN GAME; my TIME 2 LAUGH Outlook Shift Tool and Drive Yourself Happy methods on a daily basis!

I say I teach what I need to learn, and share because I care!

Well! After getting up early and spending 2 hours painting a master bedroom in a condo I have for sale; putting in some time at a parttime job; and going back to the condo to do a little more cleaning, checking the paint, etc. I had put in a full day!

As I was driving home around 6:00pm, I suddenly noticed a personalized license plate on the car in front of me; it read: RST EZ

HA HA! Perfect! Yes! Rest Easy, my work was done! Now to sit back and reap the fruits of my labors!

Now to ‘Be Still And Know …’ all is well!

One of the SUBWAY restaurants I frequent has very friendly, outgoing staff that give me a BIG WELCOME as I enter the place.

For the FIRST time in a year; I noticed the address of the place, today!
It is 136!

I had to SMILE as I realized – upside down and backwards on a digital display, it reads: gEl
That’s short for GELL! a.k.a. REST EASY!

So I received TWO messages today, as I was out and about, after completing my tasks …

GELL! REST EASY! all is well!

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.COM
Driving Herself Happy and Taking Time 2 Laugh along the way!
Living Life in AHHHH! MAZEMENT! at the WONDERS and GIFTS sprinkled along the path of life, to let me know to ‘BE STIL AND KNOW …’ all is well. PEACE.

I was sitting in a window seat at a local SUBWAY owned by Kathy George, a business networking colleague. A larger size fly had unfortunately gotten drawn in and trapped indoors. The fly was frantically, trying to figure out WHY it couldn’t FLY AWAY as it walked, buzzed, flitted around the full, glass window.

It fell onto its back and frantically buzzed, on the window ledge next to me. I felt badly, for it. I gave it a couple nudges to help get it upright and it jumped back onto the window. Once again, not realizing freedom was on the other side.

I had an AH! HA! moment a few years back at age 49. I went from FEARING insects to appreciating life in ALL its forms of expression. I wanted to give this fly the FREEDOM to live out its life outside, instead of walking in a confused state, up and down the window. I tried 3 times to get it to fall into an empty Chip Bag I had on my table. But, it caused the fly to panic more, buzz excitedly. I wanted to put it in the bag and take it to the door to let it fly free. I decided to let it go, rather than to cause it more stress.

I asked myself. WHAT am I learning from this? The window with light streaming through, showing the outside – is a FALSE REALITY? Do I need to change my view of things and situations in life? I then thought, ‘things aren’t always as they seem’. The fly was teaching me a lesson. If the fly could just let go of the notion that this light, view was its way to move forward, it could fly around and possibly end up outside, next time someone entered.

The next day, I went to the same location for lunch, taking a seat in the same spot. I looked down and to the left and my friend, the fly, was dead. I felt deeply for this life/soul that hadn’t gotten to enjoy the great outdoors, finishing its life frantically walking up and down a FALSE REALITY of light streeming through the window glass.

I mourned the death of this fly, as I sat there, and blessed its soul for having lived and taught me a valuable lesson.

Then, a mother and her little toddler girl came walking across the parking lot to enter the SUBWAY. The little girl had on cute, pink, basketball sneakers. As they entered, I announced with a SMILE – I LOVE YOUR SNEAKERS! The mother said to the little girl: ‘What do you say?’ The little girl said: THANK YOU! Then she said to me: ‘THE SUN IS AWAKE!’ (It was in toddler talk, so she repeated it a couple times and the mom helped me to translate.)

The little girl was very excited about telling me that the sun was shining, the rain was gone from the day before, and it was a beautiful, sunshiny day. So after she repeated THE SUN IS AWAKE several times, she then noted: The MOON WAS ASLEEP! Yes, she repeated this several times!

I smiled, thanked her for the wonderful information she had given me, and said: I BET YOU’LL MAKE A GREAT WEATHER FORECASTER or ASTRONOMER when you grow up! The mom thanked me and smiled.

I then sat there AH! MAZED! Like the FLY, the little toddler girl was giving me the same message: ‘THINGS AREN’T ALWAYS AS THEY SEEM!’ No, the sun wasn’t awake and the moon wasn’t asleep, but in HER EYES, that’s how it seemed.

I say I am an OUTLOOK SHIFT ENGINEER, because I’ve learned to look at LIFE and its SITUATIONS with a PHresh (Fresh) Outlook! Feeling down, feeling blue, how does the WORLD LOOK TO YOU? It’s my constant message to myself and others. It’s ALL in HOW you LOOK at it!

I had been feeling frustrated with my condominium not selling, my finances on a tight leash, and working 3 flexible, parttime jobs. My oldest sister Dolly in a nursing home at an early age due to being hit by a drunk driver at age 21 – permanently brain damaged (now 64); and not being respected. My mom in hospice, frustrated with her situation. But the people I’m meeting and the experiences I’m having on this journey are very interesting. If this life experience, seeming like terrible struggles to me at the moment, wouldn’t be happening; I would have met the people I have gotten the chance to meet and possibly help.

It’s all helped me to see LIFE with a PHresh Outlook.

So I sit in humble appreciation for the message from THE FLY and the Little Toddler Girl – that now allows me to FLY FREE!

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.COM
Live Life! Laugh Often!
Look Out! It’s Life! From a PHresh Outlook!

Felt this note from my friend, Erica, was BLOG-WORTHY!
So yesterday (3/11/12) was a good day.

Not because anything particularly good happened.

But in a nutshell, here’s what happened:

I had decided before to try and not be so mean and vulgar in language when dealing with other drivers.

Well, on Sunday, I didn’t lose my temper once. (I blamed it on listening to an old choir cd.)

And I was just calm, and positive, and happy. Wouldn’t you know, I got all the way from Shellsville, along Old Jonestown Road, across 39, continued on Old Jonestown Road, stopped at the one awkward stopping intersection, crossed Rte 22, continued on Old Jonestown Road to Nyes Road, to Union Deposit Road, to East Park Drive to the Giant store, and I only hit ONE red light…it was the left turn to turn onto East Park Drive before turning into the Giant (foodstore…not really big human)!

I figured I had some sort of good karma going.

And then instead of getting frustrated trying to look for a spot right up as close as I could get, I picked a nice one (wasn’t even a pull through) a bit of the ways out thinking “I’ve got good legs. I can walk it. I am thankful I have two good legs and to celebrate I’m going to walk the extra distance.”

Then on my way across the parking lot I saw an older (75-85 year old) lady slowly pushing her cart away from her car and towards the cart island/return (whatever it’s called). I said to her, “Excuse me, are you done with that, because that’s just the size shopping cart I want to use. Can I take that for you?” With a smile on her face she thanked me and turned back towards her car. She mentioned how nice the weather it was and I wished her a happy day.

Yesterday was FILLED with instances like that! All day! I just did little things for people, and enjoyed their smiles in return.

And I kept my calm.

I didn’t get frustrated at other drivers.

I let others go first.

…and it was a good day!

Just thought I’d share that with you.

Erica

passed on by: Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.COM
LIVE LIFE! LAUGH OFTEN!
Live Life in AH! MAZEMENT!
Be in AWE of it ALL!

NOTICE ME! APPRECIATE ME! She is saying … (OK – it’s a SCENT and ownership thing, but IT’S ALL IN HOW YOU LOOK AT IT, NO?) YES!

What a purrfectly, purriceless day I have had so far! I stopped at a business associate’s KATHY GEORGE’S SUBWAY at Windsor Park to be serviced exquisitely by familiar, friendly staff! Thanks to CHRIS for making my favorite, flat bread sandwich PURRFECTLY!

While there, a friendly, not afraid to dance to the music customer, noted that he was a teacher and gets his kids to dance with him! As a result, I got to ‘work it’ and ‘network’ by telling him, and demonstrating to him, my Have a Great D.A.Y. (Dance And Yodle) uplift your mood movement! He appreciated it, I gave him two of my LAFOLOT, Yellow Bookmarks/Business Cards! How PURRfect! A Possible Program may be scheduled!

I then headed over to Hampden Center Plaza where I found a PPTP! (Purrfect Place To Park!) next to the DOLLARTREE where I buy my ‘Adult Professional Stress Reliever Tools’. Okay, they are pinwheels to some, but it’s ALL IN HOW YOU LOOK AT THEM! Luckily! They were back in stock after the winter! The friendly, helpful manager/cashier took care of me PURRfectly, gave me further information about getting my BALLET GIRL RHINO TOY – video out on the DOLLARTREE site! I told him how I am improvisational, and to prove it, I bought 3 items from Dollartree and made a LEARNING LESSON-AWARENESS video out of them! It goes with the theme of my book: ‘Life is a Song in the Key of Love’ about appreciating life in all its forms of expression!

When leaving the parking lot, I saw a Purrsonalized License Plate: SMYLE How Purrfect was that?
Going with my LAFOLOT Drive Yourself Happy! motivational method!

When I got home, I checked my mailbox to find an early birthday card from a friend. Friends are PURRFECTLY PURRICELESS! My friend, Dona, had sent me a card noting: ‘Keep in Mind Stressed is Desserts Spelled Backwards!’ How PURRfect was THAT to go with my OUTLOOK SHIFT ENGINEERING lessons on seeing LIFE from a PHresh Outlook! It’s ALL in how you look at it!

When I opened the card, I had a HEALTHY LAUGH OUT LOUD! She had sent a refrigerator magnet with a PURRFECTLY STERN, GRUMPY ‘appearing’ cat with the caption: ‘This IS my happy face…’

How PURRfect to go with my story of how my SMILE CAMPAIGN started, with people assuming I was mad or grumpy just because of my normal facial expression!

A PURRfectly PURRiceless day full of beautiful SERVICE, NETWORKING and PURRecious, PURRiceless friends!

May you have the kind of day that makes you want to PURRRRRR.

Ha Ha Helen of LAFOLOT.COM
Outlook Shift Engineer! Hear! Here!
Live Life! Laugh Often!
It’s ALL in HOW you LOOK at it…

I just came from the grocery store to pick up a few things. I like the store, because they have smaller, 2-tier shopping carts that fit my 5′ 2″ height and body strength.

I started to push the cart and ‘THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!’ went the ‘wheel that wanted to be heard!’

Ohhhhh! I thought! *thump thump thump … thump thump thump … EV’ RY BODY DANCE NOW!
YES! I had gotten a CART WITH RHYTHM and BACK BEAT! Oh! Yeah!

Hey! It’s ALL in how you LOOK at it or FEEL the “Rhythm of Life”!

I could walk around embarrassed, bothered, annoyed or GET DOWN AND GET FUNKY to the RHYTHM of my temporary life buddy “THUMPER! THE GROCERY CART!”

I saw a man shopping in the pet food aisle. As I rolled on by … ‘thump thump thump’ … I said to him: “I KNOW! I KNOW! You’re JEALOUS because MY cart has RHYTHM!’
He smiled and laughed.

HA HA Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.COM
OUTLOOK SHIFT ENGINEER! Hear! Here!
LOOK OUT! IT’S LIFE! with a Healthy! PHresh Outlook!
rePHresh your thinking! rePHresh your life!

Well, I just came from an unsettling grocery shopping experience.

I was walking towards the back of the store’s frozen foods section. Walking towards me was an adult male (Dad? Father?) PURPOSELY KICKING the backs of the shoes of ?? his 8 year old – possibly – daughter. He kept looking down to MAKE SURE HE PURPOSELY KEPT KICKING the backs of her shoes.

They were about 8 feet away from me, walking towards me. I tend to talk, joke, interract with people when I am out; but I was at a loss for words!

I watched the young girl’s face. It was neutral, no response. Was she feeling embarrassed, or used to being treated like this? She wasn’t smiling, wasn’t laughing. She was just dutifully walking in front of this man (father? dad?) PURPOSELY making it difficult for her to walk!

I think I just stopped, looked, and my face must have had a puzzled, WHAT THE HECK IS THIS MAN DOING look on it.

He THEN STOPPED, and said as they passed: ‘YOU DIDN’T SEE THAT’.

I ‘WANTED’ to say: WHO, is the ADULT in this instance!?

We wonder WHERE children learn BULLYING?
We wonder WHY children, and ADULTS get involved in bullying.

Bullying is no laughing matter. What has this man taught this young girl?

Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.COM
…at a loss for words, in a way. Perhaps I was being PROMPTED to MAKE THE VIDEO I had been stalling to make… MESSAGE RECEIVED!

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.

MEMORIZED Childhood memories carry with us into our twilight years. I’ve found this when doing laughter wellness programs for dimentia units. I just focus on their MEMORIZED Childhood rhymes and they ‘flow and glow’ right along with me! NO STRESS!

A doctor told my mom she had 3 hours to 3 days to live, A YEAR AND A MONTH ago. Gotta laugh! It all worked out, because she was clearheaded and able to make all her requests and plans – one being that she go into Hospice. She tends to ask – what am I doing in here? When I refresh her memory – we have a good chuckle over DOCTORS! *What do THEY know! EveryBODY doesn’t follow what is ‘BOOK-LEARNED’. LOL!

She can chuckle, because she was a nurse trained around World War 2. A tough cookie, with a sense of humor, who always wanted to be the next Shirley Temple! She always talked about the fact that ‘others would stay away’ from the hospital residents that were dying … but she chose to sit with them. She wasn’t afraid of death.

So it’s easy to visit, because she knows and feels death is a part of life – and in the end – you JUST GOTTA LAUGH at the way it flirts with you and says … nope – NOT YET! … you’ve got another SUNSET!

Ha Ha Helen of LAFOLOT.com
Outlook Shift Engineer! Hear! Here!
… looking at LIFE and DEATH … as ALL A PART OF LIFE! … same thing … just like the tides … in and out …a process…

I think we need to find a LESS MESSY way to BIRTH into this world and MAKE OUR STAGE EXIT … maybe if we put the question out on Facebook? *ba dump bump …

I started a Facebook page to make THE WORLD ‘AH! Ware’ of my simple, healthy socialization, self-esteem booster, personal recognition and highlighting tool!

HA HA HELEN’S SMILE CAMPAIGN GAME! LIGHT THE WORLD WITH SMILE POWER! SPREAD SMILES BY THE MILES!

When I was at a local SUBWAY for lunch, today; I happened to slightly turn to the right with a slight smile on my face, and a gentleman sitting at a table nodded to give me RECOGNITION!
2 points! I thought! Wow! MADE MY DAY! He had on a blue lab smock commonly worn in the medical profession.

After the Expert Sandwich Makers made my ‘MEAL DEAL’, I sat down in a booth. I immediately got out one of my Yellow LAFOLOT.com Bookmarks (with the SMILE GAME noted on the back) and walked over to his table.

I said: ‘Here! I’m a local Health & Wellness professional, and I have a SMILE GAME I play. I just wanted you to know, when you nodded and acknowledged me, you gave me ONE POINT! Thank you!’

I told him more about the healthy socialization simple tools I give people as well as the motivational speaking I do. I told him, they may seem fun, silly and a light-hearted – but there’s a REAL SCIENCE to it all, and it works! I’m a professional OUTLOOK SHIFT ENGINEER!

He then told me how he recently opened LabSolutions Inc., on Hartzdale Drive in Camp Hill, PA 717 810-8030 ( labsolutions1@gmail.com ). He said: I am passionate about my business, but I don’t have customers! I told him I network a lot and belong to the Mechanicsburg Chamber of Commerce.

I asked him if he had tried any marketing and advertising? I gave him some general ideas and tips and then I referred him to Ann Marie Brandt of TEAM BRANDT Marketing. He looked it up on his smartphone.

He was very passionate about his ‘family-oriented, friendly, casual environment and personalized approach to his Lab. He even noted he ‘makes house calls!’

I offered my servers as a ‘character-health and wellness event’ promoter – such as a parking lot – tent event, to bring awareness to his Lab. I noted maybe a bar-b-que and healthy laughter since it does the body good and makes for HEALTHIER BLOOD! He liked the ideas!

He left SMILING, after he shook my hand and I said: WHERE are your BUSINESS CARDS? He had to go out and get a business flyer from his vehicle.

SMILING and NETWORKING works! A LITTLE KINDNESS GOES A LONG WAY…
What will come of it? WHO knows? and – let me tell you – “WHO” – whoever “WHO” is … seems to KNOW A LOT!

Working it and SPEADING SMILES BY THE MILES as I ‘LIGHT THE WORLD WITH SMILE POWER!’

Ha Ha Helen of LAFOLOT.com
Live Life! Laugh Often!
PLAY the SMILE GAME – let me know how many points you’ve earned in a day!

My mom, being a highly intellectual woman, likes sitting and listening to the discussion. Being exhausted, worrying, not physically able to get out of bed – it’s more fun for her to JUST LISTEN to STIMULATING conversation. She says she enjoys it.

There’s also a roommate who has been in a coma due to a brain bleed, but who had started to open her eyes and IRONICALLY – RESPONDS TO SOUND – able to turn her head quickly and look. Last evening, I noticed her tracheotomy tube had been removed! YEAH! Her daughter and grandson are happy about that!

I talk to ‘her’ when I go in to see my mom, to help stimulate her brain – having had an older sister in a coma when I was 8 years old.

So – last evening (Tuesday) – I went through my usual 10 minutes of RE-ORIENTING my mom, when I first showed. The HUMOR? It’s like the movie 101 proposals with Drew Barrymore and is it Ben Stiller? … any hoo ..

After going over where my mom is, why she is there and noting it was her decision and all is well … she gets out of WORRY mode and GETS READY TO EAT DINNER! Yes! LOL!

A hospice worker stopped in for a brief visit and while we were chatting about Chicago (her place of birth), Reiki and other fun stuff – my mom had gotten tired of waiting for her dinner.

She HOLLERED out into the hall: WHERE’S MY FOOD? (Laugh out loud)

A wonderful, young, male Nursing Assistant/Aide – originally from East Africa – named PETER – came into the room (he is one of her buddies) … but her MEMORY was gone at the moment … she repeats: WHERE’S MY FOOD? I said: Mom, this is one of your buddies, you like him!

She responds: I’m so HUNGRY – I’M EATING MY FINGERS OFF! (she was making an off sort of joke – and mimicking what she was saying) …

Peter says: GIVE ME A HIGH FIVE! and he starts to purposely miss her high five hands in a joking manner … then he LAUGHS!

My mom says, eyes wide: I ‘KNOW’ THAT LAUGH! I ‘KNOW’ that LAUGH!

*smile … she couldn’t quite remember Peter … but the SOUND of HIS LAUGH – triggered her memory!

So she starts singing an old Silver Screen Era Song to him: I REMEMBER YOUUUUUU……. and doing the broad arm opening movements as she swung her hand out from her heart – sweeping it out.

ENOUGH SAID: SOUND is the SENSE that helps persons in comas or On Their Way Out … Exiting Stage Left in life … to REMEMBER.

The SOUND of his LAUGHTER was the memory key!

Interesting, isn’t it?

Ha Ha Helen of LAFOLOT.COM
LIVING and LEARNING as I go …
Outlook Shift Engineer! Hear! Here!