For faithful followers of my blog, Sandi Nieto is a familiar name. She’s a dear, sweet friend who is a great encourager and all-around fabulous person. She’s also really funny. We met in 2009 on our first trip to Israel, and it was truly a God-ordained moment: perfect strangers one minute, life-long friends the next.
Honestly, we clicked at our first meeting and have been snapped together like Legos ever since. Except that she lives in AZ and I live in VA. Whatever.
She’s a regular on my Friday Favorites, and I’m excited that she’s guesting for me this month. BE SURE to follow her blog. It’s insanely popular, and with good reason. Check it out and see: Clayzmama.com
Lighten up!
Remember your 4th grade slumber party when you played Truth or Dare? Remember making little Janie Gooden kiss the dog and the dog kissed back? You laughed so hard you couldn’t catch your breath and the little rubber bands on your braces popped out?
You were learning at an early age that laugher just makes you feel better. Humor can relax your body, ease your mind and relieve stress, not to mention boost your creativity! In terms of exercise, you can get the same benefits from laughing 100 times a day, as you can from 10 minutes of rowing. Sooo….which would you rather do? Besides, One good belly laugh burns off 3 1/2 calories.
How can you make your life a little funnier? Here are a few tips:
- Focus on funny things – Try looking for humor in everyday life. Trust me…it’s there, it’s all in the perspective.
- Look thru a child’s eyes – Got a barking boss? Have a whining Aunt Gladys? Try picturing these characters with child’s eye view and they might just appear a little less threatening and a little silly, too.
- Choose to laugh wisely – You know, laughter is contagious, but so is the plague. If you start making racist or ethnic jokes, people will avoid you. Know when to draw the line and remember that not ‘everything’ is funny.
So go ahead and laugh! There are 15 facial muscles and dozens of others all over your body that will appreciate it!
Once when I was lost I saw a policeman and asked him to
help me find my parents. I said to him,
“Do you think we’ll ever find them?”
He said, “I don’t know kid. There are so many places they can hide.”
~ Rodney Dangerfield
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It’s me (Susan) again. I frequently highlight Sandi in my Friday Favorites. She’s the person who introduced me to “photobombs.” Here’s a small sample of some of the things you can find on her blog, Clayzmama.com
Encouragement from the Word
Easy household hints
Tender thoughts (one of her sons is a Marine who served in Afghanistan)
PURE JOY
I wish I had funny sites to share! Now that I know laughter burns 3-1/2 calories per minutes, I’m going in search of them.
It was nice meeting you here, Sandi. I look forward to visiting your blog (and thank you for introducing “photobombs” to Susan.
Thanks, Susan and Cathy!!! Susan knows that ALL I do is find the funny in life. My husband says I frequently am giggling when I’m asleep…..(thank you Jesus!)
I have had some major bumps in the road, but am so blessed to have a precious Savior that loves me and CARRIES me each day.
I hope you can all find a little moment in the day to smile and thank God for all your little happy moments!!! HUGS!!!
Hi Susan and Sandi!!! Can I be a lego piece too???
I loved your post, Sandi…as always (Susan too!) Maybe I’ll do so much laughing about how I’d look on a yoga mat that I won’t even need to purchase it! Thanks for the smiles and laughter…planning to do as much as possible today to burn baby burn those calories!!
Love you girls!
Hi, Kristi!! I am glad Susan has introduced us and I love your blog! If we were closer, I would want to exercise with you .. And trust me…there would be a LOT to laugh about!! Ha!!! I feel certain we will be meeting each other soon….so grab your sports bra and get ready!!
Thanks to you both Susan and Sandy for brightening my day. It’s true…A merry heart does good like a medicine!
Thanks for sharing!
Thank YOU for stopping by! I’m glad to be today’s “dr” feel good!!
Well, I, too am living proof that just because I live in Virginia with Susan, I, too, can become friends with Sandi!… Thanks SUSAN!!!!
I mean, who else would travel, first time, to Colorado, drive to Idaho, and spend the day with a complete stranger (and her husband) that you had only met on facebook? duh??? Talk about laughs!!! WHOAAA.
Here’s to two fabulous Christians, blogger, and great friends!
xoxox
I LOVE the way we met, TK!! Any friend of Susan is a friend of mine!!! And it was WAY cool that you came aaaaallll the way to the left (yeah, WY is on the left) to see me!!! We had so much fun with you and Ron. Can’t wait to see you in Phoenix next!!!
Glad y’all stopped by today! Sandi is THE BEST
Have a great weekend!!
Thank you Susan and Sandi! I love humor, and every time I read something Sandi posts, I smile or laugh out loud. I believe that one of reasons my marriage works is my husband’s ability to diffuse tense situations with humor.
. Thanks ladies.
I am so happy…to make YOU happy!!!!
Susan thank you for featuring Sandi…..TK introduced us via FB and we have not meet in person. When I invited Sandi to meet me for coffee, she said she would love to but she lived in AZ!
Sandi, I love to laugh but there days I do not laugh much because I have not interacted enough with people in person. It is usually when I am in conversation that I start to laugh. Sometimes, when I am telling a story I start to laugh ….also when I hear a sermon or a talk that has humor. I am stimulated by your writing to look for ways to add more humor and laughter to my life. Thank you, Sandi!
Judy, I have been in your shoes and know that there are days when nothing seems cheer me up. However, I remember walking by a canal one day, telling God that I was so sad and just needed to laugh. Suddenly a duck showed up out of nowhere and started to quack! It sounded just like a funny laugh!!! Since I was tuned into God, He gave me that little gift and I began to smile and found a little bit of sunshine!!
I am glad to have met you, even if it is just on FB. We’ll have more time to talk when we are in heaven, so Iwill save my questions for now….I am praying for you, my friend!!
I love laughter–and making others laugh as well! Even wrote an article for HomeLife many years ago on the health benefits of laughter. Maybe one day I can share it with you…when I grab a few minutes to LOOK for it!
And just in case you need a quick laugh, I hope you’ll check out my video, Solomon’s Beloved. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEmhI8FL_ZI
Thanks for sharing Sandi and your other faves.
I love that video! What a great routine, Vonda, and I would love to feature your article on laughter. When you find it, please email it to me and I’ll schedule it as a guest post!
We and a friend were laughing hard at dinner the other night at a past family mis-hap. We all must have lost weight that night!
You are so right that finding humor is all about perspective.
I am fortunate that my family finds humor in everything, but it’s never mean spirited. Something that may not be funny today is sure to be funny tomorrow or next week or next year, fodder for hold-your-sides, tears-down-your-face laughter.
Thanks for your focus on seeing the funny side of life!