laughing-out-loud

Happy Spring!

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 22:45:03 +0100

Time clicks right along.... and the AhLAFska Club has been no exception in the progress of time. We have been blessed this spring with many nursing students visiting frequently and in so doing having a very good laughing time on Mondays! With the slow progression of the seasons that we all KNOW is part of the joy of living in Alaska- doesn't always make that "March Madness" any easier (that phrase has been around much longer than basketball and for good reason). So keep Laughing Out Loud - and try to get that 15 minute quota daily to keep your brain chemicals "happy" too!

So looking forward to the AATH (Association of Applied Therapeutic Humor) conference that is later this week (April 22-25) and is at Disneyland this year. Last year the event was missed as that Rideout Volcano was not nice to air travelers, which makes this year even more anticipated. That, and my mentor: Steve Wilson is receiving an award!! So for sure I will be full of too much information next Monday (4/26) and glad to share all the details.

Until then - keep laughing and smile more IT'S CONTAGIOUS! ---jen

January 23, 2010

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 03:08:15 +0100

Well, survived the Polar Bear Plunge last week - the first fund-raiser this year for the American Cancer Society (ACS), and now onto Relay for Life. For those of you that do not know: the Relay is a 24-hour event and the biggest fund-raiser for ACS. The best part being that over 50% raised stays right here in Alaska (or the community of 'your' Relay). For Alaska, it means LOTS of travel help for those from outside of 'town' and pretty much is the budget for those expenses taken on by the local ACS office. So feel free to support me and Alaska in any way that you are able. And Thank YOU. I am all about more birthdays, and since ACS has sponsored mine since 2005... this is one of my give-back places close to my heart (literally - hahahahaaa).

World Laughter Tour being another heart-string of mine has started a program: Full Belly Laughter. The Ah-LAFska Club will be supporting this effort by requesting that attendees bring a non-perishable food item when visiting to help with keeping bellys full so there can be more laughter. The premise being it's hard to laugh out loud if your tummy is empty... so you see why I am behind this effort as well - Our little Anchorage area has a huge homeless situation, so every week I will take the donated items to Bean's Cafe to help in having less hungry tummys.

These little helps bring me joy and are a tremendous reminder to keep GRATITUDE on track--! Hope to see you soon, and remember: AhLAFska Club is moving to Mondays at 5:30pm starting February 1, 2010.

Happy New Year!

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 02:26:05 +0100

Hello to all my previous, current and yet to be members of the AhLAFska Club!! This year is going to be INCREDIBLE!

A bit chilly here in Alaska today (our digital thermometer has been "stuck" at 13.9 all day) and see there's fog in Anchorage, but not here in our little Eagle River valley, although just as pretty without that added sparkle currently. As the light fades away on the first day of the year I want to share just a few thoughts on JOY and GRATITUDE - a couple of my favorite places to go...!

Joy is another word for me meaning happiness- not unlike dark organic chocolate and good snuggle with the dog. Definitions of the word show it's a noun when used to describe emotion of the same meaning --> happiness. It's also one of the words I use to describe Hersey's Kisses: foil-wrapped pieces of JOY. hehe       But... for Jennifer joy is more of a verb: a state of being. Now granted: there are days when her 'state of being' may not exactly mirror that fact, but it's a more often than not seen effect which leads me (segway?) to: GRATITUDE. The one is wholly linked to the other in my little space and time. Reason? In my early teens one of my teachers suggested to always add thanks to every prayer as that area is often over-looked - we humans get all caught up in the gimmes... So confession: I actually listened (yup--to a grown-up) and incorporated that thought into my core. Now more than thirtyfive years later (ouch) feel that core value, that inner thankfulness or gratitude shared every day at least once if not hourly to my Maker breeds the joy that so readily bubbles out. So right here, right now and having no idea where you are: Thank you, Mr. Nicholas for that advice.

So in that confession - you, my one reader (hehe), now have the "secret" to grow your own JOY. Does it really mean being happy? For sure it makes "happy" easier to feel, because one thing learned from laughter clubs and laughter exercises and practicing the laughing out loud --that act of "faking it until you make it" works...! Now, go for it - try it out - let me know how it feels for you and if it truly works for more than just me. Keeping the Maker involved helps a bit too for sure...   =D

On that note I am stopping this blog-typing endeavor to work on that Newsletter that again is long over-due....
So once more: Happy New Year - let's make 2010 the best and loudest laughter-filled year yet!!!               ---jennifer
January 1, 2010 at 1725 - that date up top is from another time zone, obviously.... LOL!