Boy Monster: Did you get the big red heart I sent you for Valentine's?

Girl Monster: Yes, I did. Thank you.

Boy Monster: Is it still beating?

A Jewish guy's mother gave him two sweaters for Hanukkah. The next time he visited her, he made sure to wear one.

As he walked into the house, his mother frowned and said, "What's the matter? You didn't like the other one?"

There was a blonde, a brunette, and a red head. They were all builders and they were working on a sky-scraper. They always ate lunch on the top of the building. The brunette always had a ham sandwich for her lunch, The red head always had a cheese sandwich, and the blonde always had a turkey sandwich. One day they all got sick of always having the same thing to eat everyday, so they made a deal. They all said that if they brought the same sandwich they usually bring, they would have to jump off of the top of the building.

The next day, the blonde was found dead on the ground by the building. The husbands of the three builders were there and they started to talk. The red head's husband said to the other two men, "I packed my wife a peanut butter and jelly j so she wouldn't jump off."

The husband of the brunette said to the other two men, "I packed my wife a turkey sandwich so she wouldnt jump off."

They both looked at the wife of the blonde and he said:" Don't look at me, my wife packs her own lunch!"

Teacher: "Four crows are on the fence. The farmer shoots one. How many are left?"

Little Johnny: "None."

Teacher: "Listen carefully: Four crows are on the fence. The farmer shoots one. How many are left?"

Little Johnny: "None."

Teacher: "Can you explain that answer?"

Little Johnny: "One is shot, the others fly away. There are none left."

Teacher: "Well, that isn't the correct answer, but I like the way you think"

Little Johnny: "Teacher, can I ask a question?"

Teacher: "Sure."

Little Johnny: "There are three women at the ice cream parlor. One is licking, one is biting and one is sucking her ice cream cone. Which one is married?"

Teacher: "The one sucking the cone."

Little Johnny; "No. The one with the wedding ring on, but I like the way you think."

What did the bra say to the hat?

"You go on ahead, while I give these two a lift."

Q: How many blonde jokes are there?

A: One. The rest are all true stories.

Q: How many blonde jokes are there?

A: One. The rest are all true stories.

You're so stupid, your mother told you to go buy a color television and you asked, “What color?”

It's no joke! Humor that is used appropriately can be your best friend or your worst enemy if misused, don't you agree?

Research has long documented the positive effects a sense of humor has on a person's health, happiness and success in life. The benefits of humor in the workplace are becoming widely recognized. Both of these statements are in reference to "healthy" humor.

While positive humor has tremendous power to heal and create closeness; negative humor has tremendous power to hurt and distance. How do you define what a "healthy" sense of humor IS and IS NOT?

Five things a "sense of humor" IS!

1. A sense of humor IS a choice of attitude and your willingness to look for, find, and enjoy the "funny" in your everyday life.

2. A sense of humor IS a tool you can use to reduce stress and anxiety, help you escape the seriousness of life that can weigh you down, and increase your ability to deal with life's daily demands and challenges.

3. A sense of humor IS a release to help you relieve tension, relax, let down your guard, laugh, open up, connect, bond, and improve your relationships.

4. A sense of humor IS a coping strategy to help you succeed in overcoming tragedy, personal loss, embarrassment, hurt, frustration, anger, disappointment, and change. When you learn how to separate "who you are" from "what you do," you can laugh at your circumstances, without damaging your self worth.

5. A sense of humor IS a magical gift within each of us, which requires feeding, nurturing, and developing. It has the power to attract, invite, include, rescue, protect, preserve, heal, restore, amuse, entertain, energize, and enhance your everyday life and relationships at work and home.

Five things a "sense of humor" is NOT!

1. Having a sense of humor does NOT mean you have to be a comedian or try to make others laugh.

2. Having a sense of humor does NOT require you must have the ability to make quick hilarious remarks, witty come-backs or tell funny stories and jokes.

3. Having a sense of humor does NOT insist you have to laugh at everything, especially if it offends you or if you are the brunt of another's misuse of humor.

4. Having a sense of humor does NOT provide you opportunity to sling sarcasm or vent feelings of hostility, anger and resentment by using negative come-backs, insults or putdowns.

5. Having a sense of humor does NOT give you permission to say anything that might hurt another's feelings, ridicule, poke fun, intimidate, alienate, patronize, degrade, belittle, embarrass, pick on or offend.

"It is MORE IMPORTANT to HAVE FUN than to BE FUNNY, isn't it?"

A quote from Lawrence J. Peter and Bill Dana says: "Realize that a sense of humor is deeper than laughter, more satisfying than comedy and delivers more rewards than merely being entertaining. A sense of humor sees the fun in everyday experiences. It is more important to have fun than it is to be funny."

How does your sense of humor measure up? Does your sense of humor need some refining?

Humor is meant to improve the quality of your life, and bless others; not to cause harm. Before you can use humor safely and effectively with others, you have to first define it and refine it within yourself.

Lois McElravy, Lessons from Lois, works with individuals and organizations who want to learn how to effectively use humor, so they can handle the demands and pressures of work and home, maintain a flexible perspective, develop creative solutions, produce positive outcomes, and have more fun.

Learning to laugh and "hangin' on with humor" rescued Lois from the distress and despair surrounding her daily life, and initiated her recovery from a brain injury. Her universal message offers hope, motivates participants to be faithful to do the small things, and conquer their challenges one day at a time.

"No man needs a vacation so much as the person who has just had one." Elbert Hubbard

We all do it year after year - work long and hard until we have passed the point of good reason. Then we pack up the family and head out for the once a year summer vacation, which is going to miraculously bring our life back into balance.

If only it were that simple. Just choosing a time that fits within everyone's schedule is nearly impossible, as well as agreeing on where to go and what to do. Many employers expect employees to get as much of their work done in advance of taking time off and work late playing catch-up when they return.

It's no wonder that when our best laid plans for a fun-filled family escape hit a few snags, we lose our cool. Whether the wind howls, the rain pours, or someone suffers from food poisoning or heat-stroke, we will likely encounter some unexpected and uncontrollable circumstances which pose a serious threat to crush our enjoyment.

It was a yearly tradition for our family to take a trip during the summer. Over the years, we survived several predicaments while vacationing, including car sickness, bickering, illness, uncooperative attitudes, difficult relatives, and even head lice. How? We were equipped with an arsenal of stories and a sense of humor.

Spring break 2000, our family vacationed in California and Mexico to celebrate our sons' graduation from high school. It was a dream trip. In fact it was our first and only tour that went off without the usual calamity.

Arriving home on cloud nine, we were jolted back to reality. Our home had been ransacked. As we dealt with the violation of our privacy, we made a list of what was missing. Topping our list was Andy's Playstation and games, Cassy's treasured charm necklace, and some of my jewelry.

My husband, Larry, buzzed all over the house in a panic, certain that the thieves swiped his prized possessions - his Nebraska watch, Nebraska wind-shirt, Nebraska winter coat, and Nebraska hats. Once Larry confirmed that he was only missing two duffle bags which were likely used to haul away our stuff, his relief turned to offense, "What's wrong with my stuff? It's not good enough to be lifted?"

We all split a gut, "Guess the thieves are not Nebraska fans?" Laughing in the midst of our dilemma provided the relief we needed from the devastation of being burglarized. Andy started the ball rolling, "Wonder if the robbers will figure out that the only way the Playstation will work is to lay it on its side?"

Cassy chirped in, "I'm picturing their reaction when they realize that the 20 music CD cases they stole were empty, because I took my CD's with me on our trip."

I was reminded that my best jewelry was also with me on our trip. Larry didn't recover nearly as quick, "I find it insulting that only thing of mine that was taken were bags to haul away your stuff." We laughed even harder.

What could have tarnished the memory of our dream vacation, over time, has provided us with many laughs as we retell the story. When you find yourself dealing with disappointments on your vacation, tell yourself, "Someday we will laugh about this." And you will.

Lois McElravy, Lessons from Lois, works with individuals and organizations who want to learn how to effectively use humor, so they can handle the demands and pressures of work and home, maintain a flexible perspective, produce positive outcomes, and have more fun.

Learning to laugh and "hangin' on with humor" rescued Lois from the distress and despair surrounding her daily life, and initiated her recovery from a brain injury. Her universal message offers hope, motivates participants to be faithful to do the small things, and conquer their challenges one day at a time.