mac has moved onto video games, so I think I am going to take advantage and actually change those sheets I discussed earlier. Then maybe some cooking.

Yeah, the problem with the million dollars thing is that, after taxes, let's say that you'll have $500,000. That really truly doesn't go that far, but it will definitely open some opportunity doors. I really want to take cooking classes, cake decorating classes, glass blowing classes, oil painting classes, ballet classes, private ballroom lessons, and French classes--in France. I want to swim with dolphins, and see fairy tale castles in Germany. I want to like all the clothes that I own, and have them fit and be flattering. I want to cut down on how much I work, so that I can have more time to actually put my creative writing degree to use. I want to buy shiny appliances and pretty furniture. I want all my debt gone, and considering that I'm 24, I really don't even have that much--about $30,000, and that includes student loans, car loans, and credit cards. I want to own good pots and pans and a pizza stone. And I want to own the place where I live, so that I can do whatever I want with it, and half of all the money I get in a month doesn't go to someone else. I want to feel like I'm planning for my financial future instead of just feeling like I'm barely making ends meet. I want LASIK and laser hair removal--I mean, just think of all the time you'd save after having those done. I want to be able to afford the vet with no problem.

And I want all of that to happen right now. Do heads up pennies grant that kind of wish?

Do heads up pennies grant that kind of wish?

Haven't tried that yet

Well, crap. The party I'm going to today, that I thought started at 5 pm? Starts at 2. I guess I won't be bringing a homemade blueberry pie, after all, since I haven't even gotten it assembled yet.

Woops.

oOOOH. I have leftover pie in the fridge downstairs that I was forgetting about. Soon, pie all gone....

Ooo, a million dollars after taxes . . . pay off all debts, buy a house, buy a car, sock a bunch of money into a medical bills fund, then travel. Hubby's been wanting to show me Monterey and Germany, and I want to show him western Pennsylvania.

Thanks! Yep, it's my birthday, the big 3-4.

Just a baby! Happy birthday, Nora. You share a birthday with my little sister.

I just now realized that the reason why I'm feeling grumpy and loserish is probably because I'm getting a cold. Oops.

Yeah, the problem with the million dollars thing is that, after taxes, let's say that you'll have $500,000.

I've decided that even if I won as low as $300K in the lottery (lottery winnings are taxfree in Can.) I would quit my job. Not forever, but the win would let me pay off my mortgage (my only real debt besides a little bit of credit card debt) and live for a couple of years and maybe go back to school or start a little business. Once the mortgage was paid off, I don't need a lot of money to live modestly. It wouldn't give me a life of leisure, but it would get me out of the rat race.

Happy Birthday Nora.