Oooh, Baby, I Like it Here in Dreamland!

Did you hear the news today? The MegaMillions lottery has jumped up again. Last night, it was a paltry $330 million windfall, but today it has jumped another $25 million for a grand total of $355. That's $224.2 million cash in a lump sum. Sure, you have to pay massive taxes, but it's still pretty damn sweet. Can you imagine?

I can. I'd buy a new house. I'd probably build- & not what you'd think. I'd stay here. I like this town. I have family here. I have friends here. There's a great school here. But I don't live in a great house... I don't need a mansion, far from it, but there are some luxuries I'd really like to have.

I want an open floor plan. I want a big kitchen with lots of storage space for all the kitchen equipment & a really cool cook top with lots of burners & a grill & a vent that really works & goes away when not being used... I want lots of counter space for the simple fact that I've never had any, & I've always needed more. I enjoy baking & cooking & I need space to do it. I want to be able to be part of whatever is going on while I'm doing that, not segregated from the fun because I'm working. And I want lots of task lights!

I want a recreation room that has all the video games in 1 place, kind of adjoining a real theater room. I think a swimming pool would be pretty great. A luxury, but 1 that lots of people have. I'm not so extravagant. I want a big bedroom with separate closets for my husband & me. Until we moved here, that's what we always had & that was pretty wonderful. I don't like sharing my closet. I'm neater.

The en suite bathroom would have a glorious shower. I don't care about those garden tubs. I kinda don't understand them. (They always put them in an area surrounded by windows, but I'm not keen on bathing in public. I don't care if I owned 100 acres & it would be just my family {& the gardener} outside...they don't need to see me getting out of the bath. Pull down a shade & it sort of cancels out the purpose of all the windows...) I'd like a big shower where I can wash my hair without bumping my elbows on the walls, where a curtain won't be blown against my legs, where if my sweetie decides to join me, we're both still under the spray....so maybe with multiple sprays. And a bench so I have something on which to rest my foot as I shave my legs, where I won't bump my head on the cubicle wall when I bend, for that's an issue I currently face.

I'm not really greedy. I'm not really showy. I'd be happy to know I'd repaid any debt I owed anyone. I'd put aside trusts for my kids to be sure their educations were financed & they had a safety net. I would for sure want a weekly cleaning service....seriously, no one likes scrubbing tubs & toilets. I'd still donate to causes I believed in. I'd try to invest wisely to ensure I'm not 1 of those winners who's broke in 10 years or less. I've been broke & it's not fun. I'd want to be 'comfortable' until they day I die.

;)

Aside from a few things upfront, we'd live pretty modestly. Hopefully we could travel well. I don't need to live in a castle. I just want to see one.

My kids asked if we could buy a house in the Caribbean or Hawaii or someplace & I thought, no. I wouldn't do that. We could certainly go there for a vacation, but I don't want to go to the same place again & again. I want to see too many things & go to many places.  

                                                                                                              I haven't been anywhere outside the US except Niagara Falls. It barely counts. And I know I've been blessed to travel as much as I have within the US. Some people never get more than a few miles out of the town in which they were born...

But I dream of travelling, going to Europe. Everywhere! I want to see it all. I love the old buildings & the history & the architecture & the scenery from the postcards... I want to see castles grand & ruined, cathedrals & palaces & museums. I want to drink wine & eat cheese (but I will pass on the blood sausages) & connect with the heritage of my ancestors. I want to go all through Ireland, Scotland, Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Greece, Spain, Italy & all the in-betweens. 

I want to go to South America, the Europe of the New World. I want to go to the beaches of Polynesia. I want to see islands & mountains & cultures different from our own... I want to see Moscow & St. Petersburg. My husband wants to see Vikings. I want to see Morocco. He wants to see Japan. Maybe I could finally get my dream job- a traveller who chronicles her journeys...& maybe I could do it without leaving my family behind.I think 224.2 million dollars would cover all that. So I have my tickets. I have my fingers crossed. The odds are estimated at 1 in 176 million. I won't hold my breath but it sure is fun to dream....

What would you do?