LAFOLOT

Here the ‘CAW CAW!’ call of the Universe! 

Life isn’t ‘just for the birds’.    

I was at a local pharmacy the other day. They had a 75 percent markdown table. It had a lot of hair care products on it. I started to read the labels on the front, to see what they did, in the event I could make use of them. I found their SUPER POWERS AH! MAZING!

I then started to read the back labels, for additional information. WOW! (World Of Wonder!) These products were SUPER PRODUCTS! They had TRANSFORMATIONAL POWERS!

The more I read, the more I started to SMILE, then LAUGH!  :-)

I started to think, if these hair care products could do so much for a person’s hair; just THINK what they could do for a person’s SELF-ESTEEM!

Taking it further … just THINK what these products could do for WORLD PEACE!

If these SUPER-POWERED hair care products could be distributed around the world; they could make everyone FEEL SO GREAT that no one would want to fight with one another; and they would LOOK FANTASTIC, too!

Just imagine: SHAMPOO FOR PEACE!  :-)

Apply daily, or as often as needed!

Able to calm and beautify – within and without!

Able to UPLIFT and ENHANCE personal feelings of JOY and SELF-CARING; as well as bringing JOY and CARING to others!

Able to initiate OPEN, HEALTHY COMMUNICATION and RESPECT for personal space of others!

SHAMPOO FOR PEACE! TRY IT TODAY! TRY IT EVERYDAY! BUY IT AS A GIFT! SHARE THE LOVE!

The SUPER POWERED – EMPOWERED SHAMPOO for THE WORLD! (Also available with HIGHLIGHT features – for a more enlightened application!)

WASH AWAY THOSE FEELINGS OF NEGATIVITY, HATE, HURT, ANGER, FRUSTRATION – AND ALLOW THE SHAMPOO BUBBLES TO BUBBLE-UP DE-LIGHT and DELICIOUS Healthy Interaction of Respect and Healthy Socialization!

HA HA Helen of LAFOLOT.com – OUTLOOK SHIFT ENGINEER! Hear! Here!

I always found it an interesting observation about the nature of addict behavior. We might judge an addict as not caring about their life; when, if you look closely, there’s a perfectionism about the mis-management of the life.

Coming from a family of addicts, I got to personally view a lot of interesting behavior, as well as my own through continuing to become aware, feel, and heal.

For example, I have 3 sets of neighbors who are meticulous in maintaining their homes! These are ‘good’ people! Hard working! Good parents and grandparents. I ‘see the love’ and ‘healthy interaction’ when the children and grandkids come to visit. Then there is, in all 3 households, the addiction of tobacco smoke use.

With all this meticulous detail to the External Physical Environment, to the kids, grandkids, to the dedication to the employment, there’s the Lack of Awareness and Concern for the INTERNAL PHYSICAL self.

I learned, through 12 step programs, to separate the different aspects of a person with addictions. It’s how I came to appreciate the ‘other qualities’ of my own mom, separate from her abuse of alcohol.

It saddened me to observe the one family openly smoking in front of their grandchildren the other day. One particular moment involved the 2 year old REACHING UPWARD for ‘Grandma’s’ cigarette – as if it were candy or a toy! Why couldn’t she have it? She wondered. The grandma not being aware of what was being taught to the toddler. The grandma not being AWARE of the gaseous-smoke being wafted around the child’s play area.

Yesterday, I observed one of the other couples, sitting on their front porch, loving and enjoying the company of the newest grandchild, less than a year old, sitting on the grandma’s lap. Both grandparents smoke and were actively smoking with the baby there.

Again, meticulous house, would protect that baby’s physical self in a heartbeat. Would jump in front of a moving train, yet the ADDICTION blinding the harm it is inflicting on the baby. I’ve seen the same with the addiction to white flower/sugar/grease/fat. A mother actively ingesting 2 cookies while sitting at a local sandwhich shop; handfeeding them to the toddler, and then purchasing a dozen more to take with them. Having an issue with that myself, I had a strong feeling those cookies wouldn’t make it home.

Another instance, I observed a mother allowing a child to actively just eat the butter out of the butter packets, one after the other, at a local restaurant. Addictions come in all shapes and sizes at an early age. Addiction or the body starving for proper nutrition? I couldn’t say.

The Department of Health put up Billboards, years back, showing how ODD, SICKLY etc. persons look, who smoke tobacco. They were trying to bring awareness.

I have a new thought or suggestion to the Department of Health. Perhaps if they put up billboards – graphically showing the harmful smoke being wafted across the faces of the Babies, Children, Pets, Wildlife (graphically – not a true photo) – it would AWAKE the addicts?

But then again, WHAT AM I SAYING? The only person that can change the habits of an addict, are the addicts themselves.

BEing, sitting, and observing – LIFE in action … or DESTRUCTION?

i n t e r e s t i n g …

I’m not a parent, I don’t have children, I can only observe and ponder, not judge, as I wonder. I see the external, physical love of ENVIRONMENT and the CARING of the INTERNAL SELF for self and other ‘loved’ ones going UP – IN – SMOKE.

Helen

One of the many gifts of life, is to hear/feel the purr of a cat as they appreciate your attention!
My cat, Kitty, is currently walking across my arms and desk as I try to type! PURRfect!

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…

As I walked through the automatic opening doors at my parttime job; I made a humorist comment to a customer leaving the building. It’s been raining here, so much, that I like to say to people when it’s downpouring: ‘THINK IT’S GONNA RAIN?’ *LOL!

I think the customer responded, without missing a beat: ‘DON’T KNOW! BUT THEY’RE CALLING FOR IT!’ *LOL! …the humor comes from the conversational exchange in the middle of the downpour!

So, I let out a BIG LAUGH, as is natural for me.

As I entered the store, both the Shift Supervisor and Cashier, who were stocking shelves, popped out from their aisles, almost exclaiming in unison: ‘YEP! I KNEW IT, IT’S HELEN’S LAUGH!’

It’s the HA HA Helen SIGNATURE LAUGH, a freely expressed LAUGH OUT LOUD!

Just like with a written signature, a physical style, stance, tone of voice; we all have a signature laugh style!

It’s nice to be noticed for my signature laugh!

In theatre and television sitcoms, ‘signature laughs’ made some characters famous!
Think about the character LAVERNE from ‘Laverne and Shirley’ – her slow, nasal laugh.
Think about Arnold from ‘Welcome Back Kotter’.
Think about ERKEL’s also famous, nasal laugh!

Just like from the silver screen era movie about GYPSY ROSE LEE. There’s a song in the movie: YA’ GOTTA HAVE A GIMMICK!

Having a signature laugh is a good thing. It AUTOMATICALLY announces you before you enter a room.

One of the best comments I ever got at a Laughter Club was from a woman who had a very dry wit. She said: ‘My laugh is basically ‘HA!’ I said: ‘That’s a great laugh! It reminds me of a Shakespearean actor, stepping haughtily out on the stage with a broad stride, raising one arm into the air and announcing: ‘I LAUGH! …. HA!’ She responded: I LOVE IT!

This has been HA HA Helen of LAFOLOT.COM, OUTLOOK SHIFT ENGINEER!
Living Life! Laughing Often! … Living Life in AH! MAZEMENT!
and LAUGHING OUT LOUD! Why? Because it’s a healthy stress reliever.

I was helping my younger sister, by taking my mom to a doctor’s appointment years back. My mom, having reduced lung capacity, started to breathe heavily once getting back into the car. Having a creative mind and strong instinct, I quickly put my Russel Watson ‘The Voice – ENCORE’ CD into my car’s player.

He opened with his pop-raspy voice intro to the first song; and then BURST FORTH into FULL OPERATIC VOICE! What a VOICE! My mom exclaimed: ‘Wow! Buy me that CD!’ and she handed me $20.00 to pay for it! OH! …and her breathing started to calm!

I’m told my own singing voice can be very soothing, comforting, relaxing, and healing. I’ve had people buy my CD ( A Night at the Piano Bar with Helen of LAFOLOT) to give to freinds with health challenges.

The POWER of THE VOICE! With tone, with a look, with a feeling behind a word or statement – we have THE POWER to instantly change a mood, a situation, become a negotiator, an instigator, etc.

The POWER of THE VOICE! In Laughter Wellness and Outlook Shift Engineering talks, I share about ‘empathic response’ studied by Neuropsychologists. This is an area of the brain that receives WORD-VOICE and FACIAL-PHYSICAL transmissions from others with whom we are interracting. AH! MAZING! I say!

WE, have THE POWER – to diffuse or use! WE, have THE POWER to feel, assess, and SHARE-CARE due to the NATURAL empathy response of our AH! MAZING! BRAINS!

WHAT A GIFT!

I’m listening to my Russell Watson ‘THE VOICE’ CD as I type this. I LOVE the male, tenor voice!

Music, Voice, Word, Facial Expressions have such POWER! When I want to RESET, or have a personal OUTLOOK SHIFT – I often turn to MUSIC! ART! ENTERTAINMENT! SOCIALIZATION! LAUGHTER WELLNESS!

All these are received by the brain and have the power to:

MOTIVATE ME TO GET UP AND MOVE! CLEAN! Get OFF MY SEAT – and MOVE MY FEET!
to, RELAX, INSPIRE, FEEL, HEAL and MEDITATE!

In a slump? Feeling jittery or agitated? Need to relax and relieve stress? Need to get up and move?

Think Music, Voice, Action (Acting) and watch yourself move in a different direction!

Highlighted Helen! ‘Outlook Shift Engineer!’
Living BOLD and in ITALICS!
Live Life! Laugh Often!

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

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 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