LAFOLOT

As part of my DRIVE YOURSELF HAPPY and SMILE CAMPAIGN, whenever I come to a stop at a long intersection traffic light, I put my red clown nose on, roll down the car window and stare at the car to the left or right.

Sometimes, I get a smile, sometimes I get a laugh, sometimes I get a straight, nonresponsive stare. All responses are OK! I encourage people to BE themselves!

Well, I need to make a personal note NOT to do this AFTER DUSK!

I came to a long traffic light intersection, saw a teenager sitting in the back seat with his parents in the front seats. I put on my red nose, rolled down the car window and looked at ‘the kid’ since their car was pulled up a bit farther than mine.

Uh oh! no response! I scared the young guy! The dad looks over and I SMILE with my clown nose on. He just looks flatly at me and alerts his wife! She looks over from the driving seat – the light changes and THEY TAKE OFF!

Laugh out Loud! Oh my! I guess they didn’t see my LAFOLOT.COM magnetic advertising sign on the side of my car; due to being pulled up farther than my car!

What can I say! I wonder if they were thinking, as they drove off into the sunset …. ‘Who WAS that Red-Nosed Woman?’

note to self: play drive yourself happy and smile campaign BEFORE the sun starts to go down.

Oh well …. it’s a DEEP subject!

HA H Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.com
Live and Learn and LIVE LIFE! LAUGH OFTEN!
Living life in AH! Mazement!
Silly me …

There’s something about getting a ‘gift’ tossed your way unexpectedly when you’re dealing with a lot of stress! Big Thank You of GRAT-I-TUDE (one of the things I teach that I need to learn) for an AH! MAZING! moment – WHERE? AT THE GAS PUMPS!

My tank was on empty, we had a couple ‘dumps’ of snow last evening and earlier in the day; I have a mother and sister in nursing and hospice care -

so what do I encounter when I finally get out to fill up my tank?

A man stops and smiles after paying for his fuel. He says: Are you a speaker? I answer ‘yes’ and ‘smile’ as I see that he’s noticed my magnetic car advertising.

To make a long story short – in addition – I’ve haven’t been able to keep up with my business handlings as well as I would have like; due to a lot of family needs surfacing (relocating my mom, closing down an apartment, closing out an assisted living apartment, etc.)

WHAT? Do I find in the small container I keep on the floor near my passenger seat (for business supplies) – A FULLY PACKED PAMPHLET about what I do! Miracle of Miracles! So he got to take a lot of information with him; in addition to what I shared face-to-face.

Somebody is watching out for me through all the ‘not fun stuff’ going on (which is one of the things I teach – how to work through or should I say RIDE through, more easily!)

AH! MAZING! Oh! Yes! and due to my radio commercial station forgetting to contact me regarding continuing my AD – they automatically offered me a FREE WEEK of Advertising!

AH! MAZING! Go figure! I certainly DO Live Life in AH! MAZEMENT! Have to shake my head side to side and smile and laugh over this day and this week!

AH! Yes! I can’t forget to mention the DRIVE MYSELF HAPPY moment I encountered, when I stopped at a shopping plaza parking lot; afterwards, and saw the license plate: JOYN-LIFE ‘Joy In Life?’ or ‘Join Life’ – no matter how you SEE it; it was a message gratefully received!

Full of it – GRATITUDE and AMAZEMENT, that is!

May you find – amidst some of the ‘overflowing piles of laundry of life situations’ – that you are being entertained by angels, unawares.

Highlighted Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.com

Just in case you need a smile – I’m sharing one with you right now.

A HA HA Helen – healthy socialization outing event. HA HA!

Once again, because I dislike crowds and grocery shopping (especially around holidays) – I made the statement as I started to MANEUVER through the post-holiday grocery shoppers:

I AFFIRM I AM GOING TO HAVE A FUN SHOPPING EXPERIENCE! (in my head – not out to the crowd! ) ;o)

I saw a man trying on sunglasses at the display. I picked up some items and he was still there as I was passing by. He had a pair on with a big, blue, cardboard tag hanging off to the left side.

I looked at him and said: ‘THEY LOOK GREAT! I ESPECIALLY like the BLUE Tag hanging off the side! It BRINGS OUT the COLOR in YOUR EYES!’

He took them off, smiled and THANKED ME! He started to tell me how he was bummed that he had sat on his sunglasses in his truck, this morning. I said: ‘Oh, I know, your FAVORITE pair!’ He said: ‘These will do’ and we went on our merry ways.

I am A-MAZED at how total strangers not only respond but get into conversations with me, openly sharing!

Then – in my car – I was at a long intersection stop light. BECAUSE I’VE BEEN in a buggy, stressed out mood lately – I decided to SNAP OUT OF IT – Put on My Clown Nose – and held my stare pose at the woman driver in the car to my right (another turning lane – where you sit for about 4 minutes). I do this as part of my Drive Yourself Happy and Smile Campaigns – as a stress reliever; and to get people ‘out of the driver fog’ and more attentive once the light changes.

She looked at me -
I smiled –
I waved (due to tinted windows)

She kept a set look on her face and turned away.

WONDERFUL! I thought! It’s what I teach! BE who YOU need to be!
I smiled to myself – thinking –
isn’t it wonderful!
Making the offer – and the other soul can make their own choice on how they want to interact or not – the other driver shouldn’t have felt she HAD to smile or acknowledge me. We all have choices in life. I teach a concept called PEER POSITIVE – living your OWN life and not allowing OTHERS to DICTATE how you live it.

TWO examples of HEALTHY SOCIALIZATION –

not forcing feelings on anyone and not allowing anyone to force feelings on me.

LIVE LIFE! LAUGH OFTEN!
and feeling good about my HA HA happenings ….

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.COM
Live Life in A-MAZEMENT and be the best YOU you CHOOSE to be!

I like to ‘sparkle’ so I wear glitter on my face every day, as well as 3 pierced earrings in each ear, every day. Lately, I’ve been wearing my Christmas Tree earrings, faux crystal box cut dangly earrings and gold dangly accents. I consider it a COLLAGE for my EARS! ;o)

When I went to the chiropractor the other day, I took my earrings off in the car and set them in a container in the shift box area of my car between the seats; to keep them safe.

Well! Disliking having to wear so much bulky clothing in the winter, I had an afterthought and took my coat off, scarf, and fur head/ear protectors and tossed them on the passenger seat. I get tired of all the bulk, and just parked near the doctor’s office door.

When I got back to the car after my appointment, I noticed only 3 of the earrings were there!

I have LEARNED NOT to get overly upset about ‘the small stuff’. I have enough ‘bigger stuff’ to deal with, than to get upset over earrings (a brain damaged sister in a nursing home – due to being hit by a drunk driver at age 19, now 63 – for whom I’m her representative … as well as other challenges).

So I chalked it up to an ‘OH WELL …’ maybe I’ll find them on the floor of the car, later.

The next morning, I put on a freshly washed sweater, slacks and shoes to go out and START MY EARRING SEARCH – between the seats, etc. It’s pretty cold and windy here, so I had to REALLY want to look.

I talk about SEEING WITH NEW EYES, REFLECTING ON THE GOOD, SHIFTING ONE’S PERCEPTION, RE-LOOKING at Situations, etc. – from a positive persective.

Well! Because I can’t stand winter, all the bulky clothes, and getting ALL TANGLED UP every time I take ‘all my stuff on or off’ when coming or going (I wear my eyeglasses on a chain around my neck)… I had noticed – earlier in the week – I had lost the little plastic piece that helps the glasses rest higher on the nose. Only one side! So my glasses had been lop sided!

LOOK FOR THE GOOD IN EVERYTHING -

in the process of searching for the earrings – which I found!

I FOUND THE LITTLE PLASTIC PIECE down between the seats! WHAT WERE THE ODDS! [if I hadn't lost the earrings, I wouldn't have found the eyeglass part!]

It could have been ANYWHERE – a restaurant, doctor’s office, on the ground somewhere…

I had to SMILE! My gift for NOT getting upset about the earring possible loss, approaching it with an even temper and positive attitude, GOT ME A PRIZE!

And – to top it all off; when I got back into the house – I FOUND THAT CLING FREE DRYER SHEET THAT HAD FALLEN OUT OF THE SWEATER THAT I HAD JUST PUT ON BEFORE GOING OUT!

Laugh out Loud! *BIG SMILE! (I have many fun stories about lost and found dryer items… but I’ll save that for later!)

So, when you lose something – don’t LOSE IT (your cool, that is) –
take it easy and you never know what your PRIZE may be as a result!

Living in GRATITUDE!

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT
Live Life! Laugh Often!
Live Life in A-Maze-Ment!
www.lafolot.com

Never underestimate (the person standing next to you), never judge a book by it’s cover; and as I talk/teach/write about: Look Out! It’s LIFE, with a Fresh Outlook! You are in the presence of ONE AMAZING WOMAN! Ha! Ha!

I parked my car in a busy hospital parking lot this afternoon. It has my LAFOLOT business display on the side of the car; so people instantly don’t take me too seriously. Imagine that!

I was getting some ‘SILLY STUFF’ out to wear and take into the hospital with me, while going in to visit my mom. A car pulled in next to me – and it ‘wasn’t just WHISTLIN’ DIXIE!’ let me tell ya!

I had to laugh when the high-pitched tone/squeel was coming from the engine under the car hood. The mid-Eastern looking man was puzzled. I said: I think it’s in the ‘KEY OF E’ and I perfectly matched the tone with my voice. HA HA! I know THIS wasn’t what he wanted. LOL!

He said: ‘It just started this morning, I don’t know what it is!’
I said: ‘I’m pretty sure it’s the FAN BELT. ‘ All you need is some wax or soap on it and it will probably stop squeeling.’

He LOOKED at me, but didn’t question. [SMART MAN!]
I said: ‘I used to help my dad with his car fix it stuff, that’s an EASY one.’ I said: ‘Open the hood while it’s running and we’ll be able to tell right away if that’s it.’

He didn’t question and SURE ENOUGH – I said – ‘Here, see – this is the belt and LISTEN TO THAT! THAT’s where the sound is coming out!’ He was thrilled! He closed the hood.

I said: ‘You could just go to PEP BOYS car parts, pick one up and they’ll put it on for you in their garage bays at the store. Low cost!’ I said: ‘Now if your car were to just SHUT OFF – that would be ELECTRICAL – maybe the spark plugs.’ ‘I know THAT much.’

He said: ‘My Air Condition hasn’t been working.’ I said: ‘Is it working at all? thinking Freon’ He said: ‘No, not at all.’ I said: ‘Then I’d think THAT was part of the electrical circuit area, too – I would focus on taking it to an auto electrician.’

He shut off his engine and closed his car door saying: ‘I NEVER THOUGHT A WOMAN WOULD KNOW THESE THINGS!’

[I'm 5'2", 51, overweight, menopausal and heterosexual - just FYI] I responded: ‘I write and talk about not labeling and judging people. You NEVER KNOW what’s beneathe the surface!’ He smiled as he walked towards the hospital entrance.

I finished putting on my: Tinsel Deely-bobber headband, Smile Badge pinback button, gathering a couple Spread Smiles by the Miles Flags and Stress Reliever Pinwheels and headed for the main hospital entrance. OH! and wearing a SMILE on MY face, too!

OOH! WAH! DARN, I’M GOOOOOOD! HA HA!

Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT
only BEGINNING to skim the surface of my AMAZING CAPABILITIES! Hee! Hee!
www.lafolot.com
Appreciating LIFE in ALL its forms of expression!
Author: ‘Life is a Song in the Key of Love!‘

Teaser: ‘…and as I was exiting the grocery store, a tall, model-like woman was browsing the flowers and balloons display in her 4 1/2 heels! WHAT A WORKOUT!’

I used to really dislike grocery shopping. Now, I PURPOSELY do ‘frequent’, ‘inefficient’ shopping so I HAVE to go back more frequently! Nuts? Oh, no! There’s a ‘madness to my method!’ HA HA!

Being a newly independent business owner, it give me more visibility! Since I work from home, it gets me out of the house for FUN socialization! Why? because I talk to people at the grocery store, joke and spread compliments and smiles!

Today, I was nearing the end of an aisle when a young woman stops her cart – OBLIVIOUS – blocking my exit. She didn’t notice me and proceeded to slowly walk around her mini-cart and reach on the bottom shelf for the plastic iced tea container. FUNNY PART WAS – the mini-cart was loaded with 6-packs of soda all around the top and bottom edges of the cart.

I ‘just stood there’ watching. I found it funny. She was moving in slow motion, oblivious. She finally noticed me, and apologized. I laughed, smiled and said “Oh! don’t worry – I do laughter wellness for a living and I was getting a kick out of watching the whole thing!” The HILARIOUS part was, she was double-checking that the iced-tea was INDEED sugar free! HAHAHAHA – she had tons of sugary soda in the cart! (I know – it could have been for several different people, it was just funny.) We talked about food carton labeling a few seconds and went on our merry way.

When I got over to the dairy aisle, I noticed a woman with beautiful, long, healthy, black, shiny hair! I have a cosmetology license, so I KNOW healthy hair when I see it! I said: ‘Excuse me, I don’t normally do this, but I have to tell you you have the most beautiful, shiny, black hair I’ve ever seen! What do you do to it?’ She was an woman possibly in her lat 30s or 40s. She said: ‘Oh! I’m getting it ALL CUT OFF for LOCKS OF LOVE!’ [I was impressed!] She said: ‘I never use hot blow dryers on it.’ It was amazing!

Besides making ‘frequent’ trips to the grocery store (on a daily basis), I also walk from one end of the store to the other – not in a down and up the aisle pattern. Why? It GETS ME MORE EXERCISE and I feel SILLY doing it! It’s fun! I make my Grocery List in my head by getting the first letter of each item needed and making a word out of it! For example, yesterday it was WAT or TWA (Trans World Airlines!) HA HA Water, Apples, Tea bags! I just remember the word or phrase and off to shop I go!

IT’S FUN, SILLY and puts a smile on my face as I remember my items without writing them down! It’s a GREAT EXERCISE for THE BRAIN, too!

As I checked out, I wished the Indian/American cashier attendant Hello! in HINDI (I know a couple Phillipine/American women there, also – so I get to with them Hello, Goodbye, Thank you in their languages, too!)

As I walked towards the exit, I see a TALL, Model-like young woman in Shoe Heels that were almost as tall as me! They must have been 4 1/2″ heels! Talk about A HEALTHY WORKOUT while BALANCING on those things! I left the store in my SENSIBLE SNEAKERS with a SMILE on my face!

Here’s to healthy, happy, inefficient, social grocery store shopping! HA HA HELEN of LAFOLOT style!

Spread those SMILES by the MILES!

and DRIVE YOURSELF HAPPY! to the grocery store!
www.lafolot.com
Live Life! Laugh Often!
Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT

It’s a Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT

‘DRIVE YOURSELF HAPPY!’ moment! HA HA!

I was heading out of my Mobile Park to turn onto the main road -
I looked at the first three letters of the license plate
in front of me.

GBL – Ha Ha Ha! That’s GOBBLE! for Thanksgiving! How appropriate!

I went to record my FIRST RADIO AD for a small local radio station- WOO HOO! It went well! I used my THEATRE VOICE! Ha Ha! [ fyi - it will air Monday Nov 29 7:41 AM each weekday before the Comedy minute through December 25, 2010 - 1230 AM Fortress - a local - southcentral PA radio station]

Afterwards, I headed out into Holiday shopping traffic to do some food shopping and head over to my favorite office supply store for my 2011 business wall calendar.

When leaving the parking lot to drive home – I looked at the car in front of me. The first 3 letters on the license plate were:

ELV

HA HA! ELVES! How appropriate for the Holiday Season!

Guess I’m ‘DRIVING MYSELF HAPPY!’

Have a Ha Ha Happy THANKSGIVING and Holiday Season! No matter your belief system or options for celebrating or not – just BE!
*Weeeeeee! *tee hee!

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.COM
Live Life! Laugh Often! and DRIVE YOURSELF HAPPY!

I heard from the table back and to the left of me, ‘Why don’t you just say MAN HOT? ha ha He got his GIRLY HOT’.

‘OK!’ I said – from my booth; ‘Wait a minute. I’m going to have to chime in here.’ *smiling

I bet none of you can eat your Thai Food as HOT as I can! I get mine: ‘THAI HOT! HOT! HOT!’ …and I’m a WOMAN!

When the server came over to take my order, I let her know I had been messing with the 3 guys and I said: ‘I’ll have mine THAI HOT! HOT! HOT! (a bit louder than I ‘needed’ to say it). She laughed.

I know the owners of this particular Thai restaurant; I’ve known them for over 12 years! I’m practically an adopted member of the family – even being of Hungarian background. The previous owner, son-n-law who managed and cooked there, told me he had to wash his hands after cooking my food!

When I went to one of the family picnic/celebrations – for the birth of a new grandchild, one of the relatives recognized me. She had been an part-time server years back and remembered me. ‘CHICKEN W/ RED CURRY, THAI HOT!’ isn’t it? I laughed. She remembered my standard order. She said to her American husband ‘YOU COULDN’ TAKE HOW HOT HELEN GETS HER FOOD!’ AHAHAHAHa It was a bit embarrassing! I spoke up: It’s not sign of manhood or greatness to get Thai food super hot. I just happen to like it that way! It brings out the flavor and cleares my sinuses!

When I went to pay my bill, the 3 guys were leaving. The one put a smile on his face as he waved to me, exiting the door, saying: “SEE YA, HOT! HOT! HOT!” I laughed.

So, today, once again – I had to stand up for EQUALITY in regards to ‘being able to handle’ THAI HOT food -

it’s not GENDER-SPECIFIC! HA HA! It’s a matter of TASTE, not of muscle!

Only MEN should be able to eat THAI HOT food? SAYS WHO?

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT

Live Life! Laugh Often! and this WOMAN likes it HOT!

IT’S HA HA Helen of LAFOLOT’s TIME 2 LAUGH system!
… COMBINED with a Motivational-Inspiration Moment!

[ I like noticing the numbers on digital clock or calculator displays as numbers - especially upside-down and backwards or right-side up. They can spell words and give you a healthy break during your day - as healthy 'Triggers' or 'Purposeful Pause Moments' as I like to call them!]

This morning, I noticed it was: 7:27 AM ….hmmm L2L = Laugh 2 Laugh! I LAUGH for the sake of LAUGHING for HEALTH – in my profession!

Then I saw it was: 7:34 = hel – ut oh! I don’t like when I’m feeling like LIFE is Giving me a Hard Time!

So, what do I do?

Next it was: 7:35 = SEL [Sell THAT perception of how LIFE is going 'Buy-in' to a NEW way to look at it!]

7:36 - GEL – Now you can ‘LET IT GO’ and move on with a NEW OUTLOOK, just GELL and RELAX!

This has been a Highlighted Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT – mini motivational moment!

Have a Great Day! Live Life in A-MAZE-ment and Take Time 2 Laugh!
www.lafolot.com

I have a DRIVE YOURSELF HAPPY campaign on my website, dealing with:

Staying present/focused on the road
Spreading Smiles by the Miles, and
Using my TIME 2 LAUGH system of healthy mood shift triggers!

Having a rough prior evening, but sorting it all out this morning – I headed out to lunch at my favorite Thai Restaurant [ Thai Palace]. I sat in their MIDDLE room because it’s warmer, and the 2 outer rooms have seats along the windows. It’s a cold, rainy, gray weather day.

Being the only one sitting in the middle dining room – I have fun ‘messing’ with the other customers that walk through to go to the restroom or to take a shortcut to the buffet.

When one woman from an outer table got up to walk through, I announced: ‘I’LL ONLY CHARGE ‘YA $5.00 TO GO THROUGH!’

She laughed and said: ‘WOW! WHAT A GREAT RATE! DO YOU WORK FOR THE TURNPIKE COMMISSION? CAN I PURCHASE AN ‘EASY PASS’?

About 10 minutes later, she had to come through again, she made a motion into the air as if she was SWIPING HER EASY PASS CARD! Ha Ha Ha!

I smiled and laughed! She said: ‘I’m using my EASY PASS!’

I was just about done eating, so when she got back to her table with her 3 other friends; I stopped by – put 3 Yellow, Smiley Face LAFOLOT Positive Statement bookmarks in front of her and said:

‘I’M GONNA HAVE TO GIVE YOU SOME TICKETS FOR AN ILLEGAL WALK-THRU!’

She Laughed Out Loud and her one friend said – ‘What?!’
I heard her explaining as I walked out to pay for my meal.

On the way home, I got behind a car that had the license plate: P-OUI

DRIVING MYSELF HAPPY! It translates to: Pee Wee (for anyone that doesn’t know that OUI is YES in French).

It made me laugh so I had a chance to WEE WEE WEE *tee hee hee ALL THE WAY HOME!

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT
Living in the moment!
Living Life! and Laughing Often!
TURN THE BEAT AROUND!
www.lafolot.com