I was wearing my ‘ME!’ t-shirt. At the entrance were a captive audience of about 20 teenagers waiting to be seated. I walked up and announced: ‘IT’S ME!’ I got such a wonderful response – they just LOOKED, and STARED! [I was SO honored! It's the teenage way! I was thrilled! ... except one teen did laugh and say to his buddy - 'guess you didn't get it, did you? ME, Question Mark?' ahahaha I also got a couple wide eyes and almost an eye roll! I'm smiling, I LOVE teenagers!

Then I went to sit at the almost empty, smoke-free bar to get my soup/salad. A 'Senior' buddy of mine was there! So we got to exchange Hullos! then he had to leave.

Then a man asked if he could have the seat next to mine nearest the crowded lobby. No problem. He noted his wife was shopping and he had the 'buzzer' device with him due to a 45 min wait. He noted it was his wife's birthday.

I said: 'Oh, it's ashame, they don't sing their birthday song here anymore.' He said he knew. I told him I was a Laughter Wellness Leader, and how I had sun the HA HA Happy Birthday song to two women the other day. I said, if you want, I can come over and sing it to your wife, but I don't want to push myself on you.
He laughed and asked me more about what I did.

I described it and told him, maybe he could sing the HA HA Happy Birthday song to his wife! Then his 'buzzer' device went off after 5 minutes! No 45 minute wait! He had to call his wife, since she had gone to the plaza to shop.

Five minutes later he comes back to me at the bar (I'm eating salad with a mouthfull!) and says: 'If I bring my wife in to you, will you sing to her?'
What a silly question! I'm such a HAM! 'YES!' I said! 'No problem!'

Five minutes later, in he comes with his wife and son. I pull my chair out from the bar, sit facing his wife and say: "OK, try to stay with me now, this is a very complex version of the Happy Birthday song. I'm going to try to remember all the words.' She nodded with a smile.

I started at full volume: HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAA ... finished with 'and many more HA HA style' - then the grande finale' of VERY GOOD VERY GOOD YEAH! with a WEEEEE! as I brought my arms down. [the husband even HA HA HA'd along WITH me!]

She said to her husband: ‘Wow! You should pay for her drink after THAT!’ [note - I just had an iced tea - I don't 'drink']
As they walked away, I heard him say to his wife: ‘You meet the MOST INTERESTING people at the bar.’

LAUGH OUT LOUD!

HA HA Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT
Smiling after a wonderful evening of MIRTH-FULL MINGLING and SINGING
Live Life! Laugh Often!
Available for Ha Ha Helen of LAFOLOT LAF-O-GRAMS!
www.lafolot.com
helenoflafolot@yahoo.com

Have you ever watched television shows or movies where seniors just LET GO and let their INNER CHILD out! Well, not having kids, I have given myself permission to START EARLY!

I was sitting at Olive Garden Restaurant for lunch having just received my unsweetened iced tea and paper wrapped straw. I was seated next to a window and looking out into the open area seating. There was a table with three women. I’m ‘assuming’ a mother and her two highschool or early college age daughters.

The one girl put her partially unwrapped straw up to her mouth, with a mischievious grin on her face, as if to be ready to BLOW the paper off the straw, into the air – across to her sister. The mother was sitting inbetween the two.
The young woman didn’t follow through. It was like, I KNOW we did this as kids even though we weren’t allowed to, but I won’t really do it.

SO! I thought! THIS is a HA HA HELEN of LAFOLOT ‘permission to let your inner child out’ EMERGENCY!

Dun dun dun DAAAAAAAAAA! I had partially removed the paper from my straw.
I got up.
Walked over to their table with the straw up to my mouth.
BLEW.
and WHooooooooSH! the paper SWOOPED up into the air inbetween the women/girls as they looked at me.

I LAUGHED, SMILED and went back to my table – letting them there giggling, laughing and smiling.

WHO WAS THAT UN-MASKED WOMAN!

I got 3 of my SMILEY Face, Positive Statement, Bright Yellow LAFOLOT bookmarks out and walked them over to their table. I announced:

‘I figured if ‘I’ did it, YOU (the mischievious teen) wouldn’t get in trouble with mom!’ The mother looked up with a big smile and laughed.

HA HA Helen’s work is never done – never FEAR – HA HA HELEN’S HERE!

Live Life! Laugh Often!
www.lafolot.com
[this blog can also be seen at VIBRANT NATION by: Helenoflafolot]

The first clue about this Sunday being SILLY and SPECIAL was the fact that BOTH my Alpha female cat ‘Kitty’ and my Alpha male cat, ‘Buddy’ decided it was OK for both to come and sleep on the bed with me at the same time! Is the world coming to an end? What a miracle!

I spent the morning relaxing and listening to the Sunday morning jazz stations ‘mellow music’ show. Ahhhhhhh -
While listening to the music, I opened Facebook and checked on my ‘Life is a Song‘ coupon special, book AD. I was getting ‘clicks’ and all was well. I hone my marketing and advertising skills by making general observations about Facebook activity, so I spent some time doing that.

Then it was time to get out of the house and make use of my A.C. Moore Craft store, fifty percent off coupon, that so diligently gets e-mailed to me every Sunday morning! I’m a VALUED A.C. Moore club card holder, you know! I AM SPECIAL! But first, lunch at Olive Garden! Going out to eat works well for visibility in my marketing and advertising.

I like to park farther out in the parking lot when I make the trip to these two places so I get some exercise. So I treck over to the restaurant which has a 15 minute wait; but that’s okay because I get ‘face time’ and unexpected advertising when I sit in the lobby and wait with the crowd. Marketing marketing marketing! While waiting, we heard ‘CRASH’! I announced: ‘YEAH!’ The one host looked at me. I said: ‘Well, it’s done, why get worked up? Just sweep up the glass! He revealed to me that it is such a common occurrent, when he is waiting on tables and entire trays go crashing to the floor, he doesn’t miss a beat with his order taking!

I had been given one of those beeper disks that is supposed to light up and buzz when it is your turn to be seated. One of the friendly hosts called over to me: ‘Helen, you should have ‘GONE OFF’.” I looked up and laughed! I pulled the device out of my pocket, it wasn’t flashing or buzzing. I respond: ‘Well, I’m in a good mood at the moment, I don’t have any need to GO OFF on anyone!’ (insert smile or laugh here) When I handed it to her, THEN it started it’s commotion! Too late buzzer-lightup thingy, I’m already getting seated!

I got one of the young, handsome, great smile, servers and had a nice lunch. Over the half-wall from the niche where I was seated (containing 3 other tables) was a family with toddlers. You could hear the fun, giggling, and squeels of the kids. A new couple got sat when I was almost finished. At one point, the little girl let out such a squeal of GLEE that it shreeked through the area. I just laughed out loud, because I thought it was fun. The lady across from me winced. My handsome, friendly, great smile server brought me my check along with a ‘Comment Card’. This was new. ‘OOOOOOH! A CHANCE TO WRITE SOMETHING SILLY’, I SAID! He just laughed, not being worried.

I had my daily meditation magazine with me, so I joked I was going to pull a profound quote out of the periodical and write it on the card. I was laughing and chuckling as I wrote on the back: ‘THE OBSTACLE IS THE PATH.” Tao Then I noted he was a friendly server and had a great smile! ha ha ha Enough SILLINESS there, I left and headed over to A.C. Moore Crafts to use my coupon!
woo hoo!

While getting my walking exercise in, returning my periodical to my car so I wouldn’t have to take it into the store; I heard a vibrating, rumbling noise. I looked up. I saw a truck with an appliance in the truck bed, with bubble wrap all around it. The bubble wrap was making a buzzing noise like when you put a baseball card clipped to a bycycle tire spoke as a kid.

I waited for the man to get out of his truck and hollered: ‘Sir! You ought to drive your truck all around more and have some fun with the bubble wrap making that buzzing noise!’ He smiled and laughed, agreeing with me. He said he had heard it and it reminded him of the baseball card bit on bycycle tires, too!

As I got to the A.C. Moore store entrance, a husband was DUTIFULLY leaning against the stone pillar in front of the store. His wife was shopping in the bins outside the store. I called out: ‘Sir! Just keep holding that column up for me while I shop in the store!” He smiled and said he’d do his best!

I got the chance to give a plug for my book, when I went to the checkout! I forgot I was wearing my AD button: ‘LIFE IS A SONG IN THE KEY OF LOVE’ by Helen Marie Szollosy, www.lafolot.com. The cashier was looking at it with a quizzical look on her face.

[an aside: When I was in a woman's clothing store the day before, the sales clerk said, as she prepared a changing room for me: 'Your name's Helen?' 'Yes.' I answered. Wondering how she knew? Then, last evening, I went to an art gallery showing. An artist I was talking to said: 'I know I've seen your name in an e-mail I received recently.' I laughed and said: 'Oh! You're reading my book advertising button!' I forgot my name was on it! Plus, I was thrilled someone had forwarded and e-mail or youtube video of mine to her!]

I said, ‘OH! That advertises my book.’ She was excited, ‘You wrote a book?’ ‘Yes!’ I was thrilled for the opportunity to toot my own horn! It ‘just so happened’ – tee hee – that I had my mini-marketing tools for my book in my purse! I whipped one out and gave it to her; explaining it was about ‘appreciating life in ALL its forms of expression.’ I mentioned it was an autobiographical/philospophical discussion on learned but not felt, bias and prejudice. Her face lit up! She was a caucasian woman and told me her husband is African-American. I let her know that book was about ALL types of bias. I gave her a couple more marketing cards and told her to feel free to pass it on.

She asked if the book was in stores, and I let her know it was self-published, it could be gotten at my website, that I had had a book signing in Carlisle, PA , recently, etc. She thanked me and I left.

When I made my next trip to the grocery store, I got to have more fun. When I got to the dairy section to pick up eggs, an employee had a HUGE cart filled with eggs, as he was stocking the area. I walked around the cart, he was sitting on the floor. I said: ‘I SEE YOU ARE UP TO YOUR ARMS AND LEGS IN EGGS!’ He started to laugh and said: ‘Hey! I like that! That’s egg-actly what I am!’

So, finished with my SILLINESS, I headed home, with a smile and a chuckle.

MAY YOU ENJOY A SILLY DAY IN THE NEAR FUTURE!

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT
Live Life! Laugh Often!
and let your silly side out and keep your sunny side up!
www.lafolot.com
[this blog can also be seen at VIBRANT NATION under blog circle name: Helenoflafolot]

Well, try; I said TRY to get centered and focus on this day’s Highlighted Helen of LAFOLOT Motivational Moment video:

FOCUS ME.mp4

Inspired by the likes of: Professor Irwin Corey, Lily Tomlin and Robin Williams

SEE, if you can, THE MESSAGE – wrapped within the collage of movement, rambling and messiness. Stay focused, now!

I’ll bet the message will work itself into your busy thoughts, and at some point in the day, come out as a laugh or a giggle. Then, you’ll get focused!

My video motivational messages are MEANT to be imperfect. IMPERFECTIONS are remembered!
Think about LIFE in general. Don’t people look for the 4 Leaf Clover vs. all the 3 Leaf Clovers?

Do you stay FOCUSED on a Picasso painting trying to figure it out vs a landscape that gives a feeling of ahhhh.

My intention is to motivate and inpsire others – MY METHOD is with messiness, mayhem and getting you to remember the thougth due to the imperfections.

HAVE FUN STAYING FOCUSED!

Live life in A-MAZE-ment … even if it’s a little out of focus!
Live Life! Laugh Often!
Highlighted Ha Ha Helen of LAFOLOT
www.lafolot.com

I got to make use of my 12 Step Program ‘amends step’ as well as Good Hearted-Living ‘Forgiveness and Kindness’ – today.

Besides being HA HA Helen, I have also been Hollywood Helen (when I sing and act), Highlighted Helen when I’m having an AH HA! moment, Healthy Helen, when I’m making positive strides with healthy eating, etc.

Well – just before the December Holidays (however you celebrate) – I had stopped in to my local Olive Garden Restaurant. It just happened to be a bit busy and the service was slow. The awkward thing is, they ‘know’ me there – mainly as a pleasant soul.
But – this particular time – being into Menopause…
I had become…
no – not a super hero – but
HORMONAL Helen! Needless to say – I did not handle myself well. I couldn’t seem to get out of the MODE of ‘making my point’ to the ‘pleasant but slow/inefficient’ ;o) server – that I was unpleased with her service.
She was trying her best to appease me and I just couldn’t ‘let it go’. Is that what menopause does to you?

Anyway – I left there feeling like crap – because I felt like such a foolish jerk. I certainly had the right to speak up about the service, but didn’t do it effectively. I thought: ‘Gheesh! I’ll never be able to go back in there, they know me and I just made a jerk of myself!’

Well! As ‘fate’ would have it, my younger sister had gotten me a Gift Card for… you guessed it – Olive Garden Restaurant! She laughed, after I told her my story and trying to now avoid the place. But – I took it as a sign I needed to ‘get back in there’ and work through it.

So – it’s been awhile, I hadn’t seen the server, but as luck would have it – TODAY – even though it’s a cold, rainy, gray day outside – there is sunshine back in my heart!

I happened to see the server when I stopped in for an appetizer. I called her over, addressed her by name and apologized. I told her she didn’t deserve to be treated the way I had treated her and I wanted to apologize. The great things with apologies is: both people benefit! She thanked me, said I didn’t have to do that, but it was nice that I had!

So – we had shared both forgiveness and kindness. I was feeling like a load was taken off. On the way home, I encountered a Big, Beautiful Blue Heron just taking off in flight near a marshy area.
I felt light as a feather and the bird was sending the same message back to me.

So, having let go of Hormonal Helen, I can once again be Ha Ha Helen in a Healthy, Highlighted way!

While I hate going through these ‘icky’ moments, they always give me something to share when I do my programs, to allow people to see that I’m not perfect, and show them how to practice Good Hearted Living.

‘Thanks for letting me share…’ ;o)
Ha Ha, Healthy, Highlighted Helen of LAFOLOT

I decided to wear my Tinsel Deely Bobber headband into Olive Garden – while sitting at the bar area, eating my appetizer; before going food shopping. I got to interract and have fun with a mom and her 4 daughters, sitting in a booth, near me. The littlest girl was belting out HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! So, I went over and gave her a Laughter Club CHEER! with a big YEAH! She smiled and her mom thanked me. Before I left, I gave her a couple of my smiley face bookmarks and an ‘I Love to LAFOLOT, it’s Healthy! pin; telling her, YOU WIN THE PRIZE FOR BEST SINGING VOICE! She smiled brightly and jumped up and down in excitement. I let her mom know I was a laughter yoga instructor. I then sang the HA HA Happy Birthday song to the eldest daughter, when I found out it was her Birthday.

I headed over to do my food shopping and wore my Tinsel Deelby Bobber headband into the grocery store. On my way in, I passed a mom with her two toddlers – telling them to Look! Look! So I shook my head and made the bells ring on the headband.

The FUNNY thing is, when I play my SMILE game to see how many smiles I get returned, when I’m NOT wearing my headband, I get a lot of smiles. It was different – I got a lot of people avoiding my glance, looking down, keeping straight looks on their faces! It was interesting!

When I first entered the store, and picked up a small shopping cart – I headed directly for my younger sister’s friend Lynn. She works at the ‘speedy checkout’ line. Her back was turned to me, so I snuck up and was going to nudge her with my cart like a fake accident, but she turned around and saw me. She was hollering at me (as is her nature – be a very outgoing person) WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU WEARING!? I talked to her briefly and headed on my way.

As I said, I had MORE people avoiding me – guess that thought I was ‘questionable!’ HA HA When I got to the Greeting Card aisle, I had to head down the aisle. There was a woman in a red skirt with white trim and a red cap with white trip (like Santa). I headed directly towards her and said: ‘YOU GOT A LOT OF NERVE COMING IN HERE DRESSED LIKE THAT!’ She looked up, saw my Tinsel Headband and laughed. Yes, she said – people are looking at me strangely, too! What’s up with that? HA HA

Then, I found one of the store ‘cart collectors and baggers’ in an aisle with two huge bags of ‘paper trash’. I said: ARE THOSE SANTA’S SACKS!?’ He gave me a big smile. I don’t know his name; the store hires ‘developmentally challenged’, ‘loving souls’ to collect carts and do bagging. This guy is great, always has a smile and is fun to talk to.

When I went into the juice aisle, a woman and her husband were shopping. He nearly stepped back into me before his wife warned him to STOP! I said: ‘Yes, don’t step on the rheindeer!’ He laughed as he turned and said: ‘Oh No! Wouldn’t want to do that, rheindeers can attack!’ We laughed as we went our separate ways. I finished my shopping and didn’t realize I was passing the same man coming out of another aisle. The funny part is, his black baseball cap had a silhouette of an ALIEN on the front! I said to him: ‘Oh, I didn’t see your Alien hat earlier!’ THEN, I realized whey HE hadn’t minded my tinsel headband!

So – I went to the SPEEDY checkout and encountered my sister’s friend ‘Lynn’ – once again. The funny thing is, Lynn tends to talk away at me while I’m scanning my groceries, and she leans on the bagging area. This causes the ‘loudly talking’ automated voice to constantly shout out errors. ‘PLEASE PUT THE LAST ITEM BACK IN THE BAG!’ ‘PLEASE RESCAN THE LAST ITEM!’ HA HA Then, she started taking my food items out of the bag, after I would scan them to see what I had bought! This caused the automated voice to squawk even more: ‘PLEASE PUT THE LAST ITEM, BACK IN THE BAG!’ ha ha ha I had to keep telling the other attendant to clear the errors so I could continue! Then, what does Lynn say? ‘YOU HAVE TO WATCH ‘THIS’ ONE!”

Oh geez!

The wonderful thing is, the cart collector/bagging guy then came up to me, he was heading out of the store, too. He mentioned that he REALLY liked my tinsel headband. I told him I had some in my car, if he wanted one and wanted to follow me, I’d give him one as a gift. He put a BIG SMILE on his face and said yes, he’d walk out with me. Once I gave it to him, he said he’d wait till later next week to wear it. I said: ‘WHY? JUST START WEARING IT NOW AND HAVE SOME FUN! IT WILL MAKE PEOPLE LAUGH AND SMILE!’ He was thrilled he had been given permission to start wearing it sooner, gave me a big smile and thanked me!

HA HA Helen ‘out and about’ spreading HOLIDAY CHEER!
Live Life! Laugh Often!
www.lafolot.com

It’s an overcast, dreary day here in Central PA (USA), but I set out with the intention to light up some souls with my SMILE Campaign!

 After I had my healthy soup-salad meal at my favorite Olive Garden restaurant, I decided to walk across the shopping plaza and spread some SMILES at Wal-Mart.  I purposely parked at the far end of the parking lot so I could get in a good walk.

 I like going into stores around major Holiday Shopping times, not buy anything, but offer SMILES, and assistance, if needed.  For example, helping a mom with a crying kid by handing the child a SMILE Bookmark, etc.

 So, I entered Wal-Mart.  There was one of my favorite Wal-Mart greeters as I entered.  She is a lovely soul, always with a smile on her face.  I ‘lept’ through the doorway, announcing “Helloooooooo!”  She smiled at me as I flew by, on my mission.

 My mission:  See how many SMILES I receive in return for my smile.

A brief explanation of my smile game – which can be found on my website: www.lafolot.com is:   Give a Smile – Get a Smile earn 1 point, Give a Smile – Get a Smile and a verbal comment – earn 2 points!

 So, off I went into the store, snaking my way up and down aisles (heading back towards the restrooms, of course!) ha ha

 I became concerned!  It was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day, and two days before the well known ‘Black Friday’ – when retailers expect their ‘books’ to go into the ‘black’ and out of the ‘red’ (debt), due to massive purchases for the holidays.

 I normally get a 99% return rate on my SMILES!  But, NOT TODAY!
Oh, my!  I thought, what’s wrong.  So, determined, I continued to walk through the store, giving my ‘soft, close-mouthed, smile’.   I actually got 4 points due to 2 gentlemen returning my smile, giving me a nod of the head and saying: ‘How ya doin’?' 

 I received only two other smiles in return!   IT WAS A SMILE EMERGENCY IN AISLE 7!!

 Was it the anticipated pressure of the Holiday Season?  Even one clerk at a counter looked down and away.   Was my zipper open? 

 Luckily, when I reached the Women’s Room – there was a toddler getting her diaper changed by her mom and Auntie.  When she was done, she was placed on the floor to stand on her own, and THANK GOODNESS she SMILED at me!   *pfew

There was hope, yet!

On my way out of the store, there was still a major lack in SMILE reciprocation!

I stopped to talk to my favorite Wal-Mart greeter on the way out.  She is a ‘very compact’ older woman, in a ‘Physical Assist’ chair.  She has the BIGGEST SMILE one could have!  A lovely soul!

I walked over to her and said:  ‘I’m a bit concerned.  I’ve been trying to collect points for my SMILE CAMPAIGN and … I proceeded to relay the lack of smile reciprocation, etc.’

Then, she said:  ‘I know what you mean!  I was NEAR TEARS an hour ago.’

I KNEW there was a reason I had taken that walk across the parking lot and visited this store.

I said:  ‘Well, here, let me help you out.  I gave her one of my bright, yellow, sunshine smiling face, LAFOLOT bookmarks with the saying:  LIVE LIFE! LAUGH OFTEN!

Here face beamed!  She asked if I had another one to give to her associate at a counter near where she was sitting.  I DID, so they were both thrilled and smiling.

I said: ‘You have your work cut out for you!’  She said: ‘I know, it’s the stress of the upcoming shopping season.’

I said: ‘Well, may every smile you give be supercharged and light up each person who receives it!’

She laughed, thanked me and I left -WITH A SMILE ON MY FACE!

So – CALLING ALL SHOPPERS….. SMILES NEEDED BY THE MILES….
Get out there and COLLECT THOSE SMILE CAMPAIGN POINTS!
I’m sending out a smile campaign challenge to everyone I know to COLLECT AS MANY POINTS AS YOU CAN!

Shoppers…. turn up the corners of your mouths and LIGHT UP THE WORLD WITH YOUR SMILES!
 
Ka-Ching…. I can hear the sound of the smile points coming in as I finish typing.

Rev up those smile engines -  varoooooooom!

HAVE A HAPPY, BLESSED THANKSGIVING filled with Gratitude and Warmth!
Ha Ha Helen of LAFOLOT
Live Life! Laugh Often
www.lafolot.com