$365 Million

$365,000,000

Can you imagine? What would you do with all that money? Boy! I think after the initial shock of winning such a prize, a long list of things to do would follow.

I would have to find a modest home in a nicer area than I'm currently in, something a little more secluded with some room for stretching. I don't need a huge model home, just something simple with a view of the mountains. Hmm... Maybe a move to another state and a home with a view of the ocean? Ah... Dreams are fun.

Bills, we always have bills. No matter how much you make, you always spend what you have, and sometimes even more than you have. The more you make, the more you spend. I would pay off a home and cars. I am satisfied with the cars I have, so I wouldn't go out and buy another for myself. I might buy a car for each of the kids and my guy, if I won big money. I would definitely pay for a college education for each of the kids.

I think a couple of vacation homes sound like fun. One northwest cabin near a lake and river in the mountains, another on the western coast. I love to travel, so maybe a fancy R.V. to travel the states and see all the sights to see with my guy and all these dogs. Of course, cruises and cruise-tours will be a must.

Money cannot buy you everything though. Love cannot be bought. Love is earned, along with respect. Keeping one's dignity cannot be bought. Some say that if they knew the life changes that come with winning millions of dollars like this, they would not have played the game. I would be willing to take the risk of life changes. I know my morals are good, and they would keep the rest of me in line.

I would put away a significant amount of my winnings, in whatever funds that will make more money for me to live comfortably in my older life. I think too, I would keep my job, at least for a while. I love what I do, it's never boring or dull. I'm sure all that traveling I'm dreaming of would hinder the job and I would be eventually forced to let it go to enjoy my travels.

Another chunk of change would be given to the local church and city charity for the help they gave me when things were not so good for me. I will never forget the giving I received when I was down and out.

I'm not a PowerBall junkie, I do not buy tickets often. But, when the jackpot's this high, I buy five tickets. Someone's gotta win, and you cannot win if you don't play.

WW

I have been hanging around the same weight for weeks now! A little down, a little up, and a little back down. I hope I'm over my plateau now and on my way to my next 10 lbs. off. Since Christmas, I haven't walked in the evenings like I was. It's been so darn COLD since I've gotten back from Mexico, and the past couple of weeks I've been sick. Tonight I was down -3.4 lbs., for a total loss of 29.6 lbs.! Last week I was sick and didn't weigh in, so this loss was for two weeks. My next goal is another 10 lbs, for a total of 40 lbs off. Baby steps in the right direction.

Tickled My Heart

I cannot tell you how surprised I was to receive flowers at work today! I was in the middle of a telephone conference with four other people, one corporate and three vendors, when one of my staff members walked into my office with this tall vase full of flowers. I didn't think they were for me, they must be for my office partner, but... she kept on coming towards me! Huh?? For me? She confirmed, the flowers were for me. No way! Yep! My name was on the front of the card, she said. WOW!

I never heard another word from the telephone conference. I had to apologize for not hearing anything further and ask where we were with our topic. My conference buddies explained they could hear my blushing through the phone. My office partner confirmed it, I was literally blushing. I was really surprised. I'm not used to getting flowers and I never even thought about flowers for today, Valentine's day. My guy done good, real good!

A Beautiful Day...

Snow! It was beautiful in McCall, Idaho, today.

The sky was blue and the sun was shining bright.

This is the most snow they've had in years.

McCall is a beautiful, scenic 100 mile drive north of Boise.

Yorkie Watchdogs

As I sit here, deep in thought, creating my entry, Lucy starts to huff. She huffs, then growls and huffs some more. My computer sits in the corner of my bedroom. All five Yorkies are on my bed. Out of nowhere, Sadie blares out her bark of warning. Lucy, now barking, huffing and growing at full speed. I turn to see what all the commotion is about only to find Lucy leaning off the far edge of the bed towards the bathroom. Now, all five dogs are barking as if to protect me from danger. Then I see it, a dark glimpse of something coming from the bathroom. Because I had been startled by their barking, I thought for a moment, there's SOMEONE in my bathroom! At second glance, one of the legs of my black tights hanging over the towel rack was blowing into the bathroom doorway, being blown in circles by the current of the forced air heater vent beneath it. Boy! They really had me going for a second!

Sonya, thank you for the graphic!

January's Gone

I took this photo a week ago or so. It was one of the first days we had in what seemed like forever, where the sun broke through the clouds. I thought I'd even catch a beautiful sunset with my lens. That didn't happen. The barn above, sits on the edge the Boise Bench just south of Eagle, Idaho. The property is subdivided there, all around this barn. The barn will be somebody's backyard view before long.

People handle stress in many different ways. Some people have to put down, holler and scream at others to get their point across. Others tend to clam up and try to avoid conflict all together, no matter the cost. Neither way is healthy. People should be able to talk their differences out, come to some understanding and/or compromise, if that's what it takes, in a civil manner, especially if they care for one another. I just felt I needed to get that off my chest. LOL

Last week I interviewed several people for another two positions in our billing office. One position is brand new. I've promoted from within the company for one of the positions, and offered the other job to an outsider who interviewed real well. Just a few weeks ago, I also hired a new A/P & Payroll person. It's going to be a few weeks before the dust settles. This last week was also our month end close, which takes most everything I've got to get done in the time frames I'm allowed. Also this week, I started the implementation of a new billing system for our hospital, coordinating the vendor with our payers and our corporate Information Systems. And, I've caught a cold. Argh.

I've been stopping by to visit Gramma at the nursing home, most every night. It's not out of my way, and she doesn't get any other visitors besides my parents. She has been insisting she could make it back at her Assisted Living facility. So, she was transported there Wednesday. Yesterday, they had to transport her back to the nursing home, she just cannot handle being so independent. Gramma cried. She will not be able to go back to assisted living, she will live the rest of her days in the nursing home. A year ago, she was walking with her walker, and now she cannot get out of bed without assistance. I do not know if a year ago, we had tried harder to get her back home and had assistance see her there in her home, if that would have worked. I feel bad that her home was sold and she has ended up in the "system," being transferred from one facility to another. It makes me sick.

I feel I've done well with my weight so far this week. As soon as I'm feeling better I plan to get back into my evening walks with Lucy, my walking buddy. (Lucy is my dog, in case you didn't know.) I have been watching the Wednesday night show on NBC, The Biggest Losers. What an inspiration those people are! I weigh in at Weight Watchers after work, on my way home on Wednesdays. And then, watch this show later that same night. Talk about encouragement! I really get excited after all that and want to do real good.

I just heard from my guy. He's been driving through snow since he got to Wyoming. Now he's driving across Nebraska, heading east and it's still snowing. The weather was so bad earlier today, he had to pull over and wait out the storm. A blizzard, he said. My heart just stops when I hear he's driving in weather like this. Before he stopped today, his truck was being blown across the road by the wind. With ice beneath his wheels, he was headed for the ditch. He was able to pull out of the slide and regain control. Thank God he's okay. I pray he makes it safely to his destination in Wisconsin Tuesday morning.

Before my guy left on this run, we went out to see, "Walk The Line." If you haven't seen it yet, do. I loved it. Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix, both do an excellent job. They both learned to sing and performed beautifully in this movie.

WW

Not much time to post this week but wanted to get this down... +1.6/-26.2

Yikes! I'm moving in the wrong direction! Focus, focus, focus!