Lotto Dreaming

Posted by tata on Tuesday Sep 30, 2008 Under Uncategorized

Last week, the lotto was up to $200M! Husband and I joked for five (or so) drawings in a row that we hadn’t won yet ’cause we were waiting for the jackpot to be just a tad higher. Last Saturday someone took the big pot and, well, it wasn’t us.

But it’s nice to dream.

Of course, with a pot that big, we’d be able to afford behaving stupidly - y’know, catching the first flight outta town to destination of our choice for undisclosed amount of time. We could head to California for redwood hugging; Sedona, Arizona for hiking and checking out the world-renowned spas; Italy because I’ve always dreamed of going; Pennsylvania to learn more about the Amish and to fulfill the dreams of a certain special somebody by paying for him to see PA hair transplant specialist to fight the bald (trust me, there is no convincing him that some chics dig bald). I’d also like to travel to some third-world countries to expose my spoiled American family (and self) to see firsthand how good we have it without ever having won any lottery.

I’m the kinda girl that is surprised when she is hit by lightning and disappointed when I lose the lottery.

I had plans to spend our winnings wisely, dammit. I swear, I was more than half-convinced we’d win. My plan was to first and foremost acquire our first and lifelong home, whether we’d buy a place we love or build one to suit our tastes and needs. Husband really wants a house that is built mostly underground, very much like this beautifully simple, low-impact one. His dream, however, would definitely include electricity, though.

The house would be environmentally-friendly, too, with solar panels, cisterns to catch rainwater for recycling purposes that would also generate electricity with the downward flow of water, and so on. We’d go shopping for durable and long-lasting furnishings, quality cabinetry for the kitchen, and I’d spare no expense for a high-caliber home system since I am a sucker for movies and quality movie-watching experiences. I’d want to pay the taxes on it for the next 50 years, too. We’d hafta get some farm equipment, too, ’cause I’d definitely want to try my hand at growing crops of various fruits and veggies eventually.

We’d hook our family members up with homes of their own, too (or pay off the ones they have), give a hefty chunk to our favorite charities and then be frivolous travelers. I’m not sure what we’d do with Joy, though, since she piped up during our dreamy conversation that she hates travel and wouldn’t want to accompany us. Weirdo kid.

Can you even imagine winning a lottery jackpot that big? How would you spend it?

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Nightmares

Posted by tata on Saturday Jul 12, 2008 Under Uncategorized
I hate dreaming. Have I mentioned that before? Well, I do. I feel sorta disconnected from myself and as though I have absolutely no control. Even if the stuff of dreams is “good.” But the last two nights, I have had bad dreams.

I can’t even recall what the dream from the night before last was about anymore, but I remember waking and being quite… hell, I don’t even know the right word. That would very likely be from me staying awake ’til damn near 6am this morning and waking 4 hours later from yet another nightmare. All I remember of this morning’s dream is my brother. First thing I did after brushing my teeth this morning was to call him. He didn’t answer. But - thankfully - he did just call back. I didn’t mention the dream, as we got into a bit of a tiff about two weeks ago and he sounded very grumpy. We haven’t yet made truce.

He says we suffer from Irish Alzheimer’s: forget everything but the grudge. This is very often true (especially in his case), but I’m pretty good at - at the very least - making an effort to make peace. So, I just said to him, “It’s a nice day to start again.” He responded in kind.

All the same, I still feel the residuals of the nightmare clinging to my foggy brain. I figure I’ll hit the sack again in an hour or two. With any luck, I will be blissfully dream-free.

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February 28, 2008

Posted by tata on Thursday Feb 28, 2008 Under Uncategorized
We finally got our income tax return today. I want to throw practicality to the wind and buy us all one-way tickets to Maratea, Italy.

Alas, I will not.

We are going to pay down our debt. Husband’s truck is paid off, at long last! It was painful to write that check, but also an immense relief. We have about $2000 more that we will be spending on paying off old debts on our credit report. The long-term goal is to get our first house. I am eager and have started looking already, but in truth, we will likely wait until we have a couple thousand saved to put down. That could easily be two or three years from now.

One of the best things about being married to Husband is how similarly we think and behave with regards to money. We are able to communicate so well about the way we spend and have similar long-term goals. From time to time, one of us gets a little crazy and the other balances the scales by bringing a reality check to the table. It’s always honest.

The dream from my end is a home that is big enough to accomadate our family size and for just a little bit of extra room to stretch out. Husband would prefer some land and while I am not opposed to that, I would prefer not to live out in the middle of nowhere. The absolute most important things to me are a large kitchen and at least one fireplace. Husband wants a basement and/or a garage. I would prefer a basement first, considering there is enough land to later build a garage if we so choose. Storage space is always good. Plenty of electrical outlets. Two bathrooms, even if one of them is only a half-bath.

Tomorrow will be a bit hectic in the evening. Mom is flying back in from Deutschland and I have to pack up the chirrens and pick her up from the airport. I still need to get her Jeep an oil change and fill the gas tank. It’s very likely that she’ll be half-starved when she arrives, so we may stop for a bite to eat. So, my plan is to turn in early tonight. Hopefully, I’ll stick to it!

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