the day I won the lottery...

I'm not a gambler.

I don't normally play the lottery.

I don't frequent casinos.

I'm not against gambling, I just don't consider myself too lucky with things of that nature. I'm not unlucky per se, but I'm not a golden child either.

It's hard for me to gamble for fear of losing what I've gained. My parents instilled that in me...young.

"Take care of your bike! We paid good money for that!", I'd hear them say as I tossed it on the ground to rush inside for dinner.

Taking risks? Bad.

Gambling? Double bad.

Everything associated with taking risks and gambling? Triple quadruple trillion times bad.

But on days when I read paper that someone won 18 million dollars, I wish I'd bought a ticket. But I don't.

You don't play? You don't win. It's pretty simple.

But this past Friday afternoon I won the lottery.

I didn't buy a ticket. I just won.

I got a little *ping* on Twitter from Blogger that they had chosen me as Blog of Note, I thought that someone was playing a joke on me. That at any moment Aston Kutcher would jump out and say, "You've been punked." Which in and of itself would've been like winning a lottery. But that's what that *ping* felt like; like winning a lottery.

I guess that you could classify me as cautious. A non-risk taker.

Oh, there was a time that I was a diva, a spontaneous 'throw it in the wind' kind of girl. I was used to pushing the envelope. I'm not sure when that changed, but it did. I don't speed. I don't park in unauthorized parking spaces or cut in line, I don't even jay walk.

I follow the rules.

I'm a little afraid if I don't.

Of what?

Getting caught? Being punished?

It drives my ex-husband insane if I'm in the car with him. I'm warning him to slow down, or not park there. Or when he goes to bolt across the street, I walk to the cross walk and wait for the light to change.

I admit this non rule breaking thing is a little over the top. But there is a reward for being so predictable.

It may not have the highest payout like those that take the risks, but I've not a speeding ticket in 8 years. So my insurance is only $63 a month. I'm not afraid of police, because I'm on the right side of the law. The only parking tickets I've received are when someone else has been driving my car.

Yeah. It may sound boring. But I can usually sleep pretty well at night.

Except Friday night.

Friday was when I got *pinged* for the BoN.

There was the overwhelming adrenaline from having the Blog of Note bestowed on me. Watching the world widget on my page spin and show the flashing red beacons of where the people are that are on the site real time is mesmerizing. Watching it turn and turn, around and around constantly flashing...

THAT blew me away.

When I did eventually get to bed, my two large dogs had decided that they wanted a little more space than normal. I'd shue them off only to wake later all contorted into the small space left for me; a huge American Bulldog head on my shoulder and a large Labradoodle pinning down my feet. This happened no less than 4 times. Add into the mix a cat who decided that I needed a fur collar whilst I slept, well...lets just suffice it say it wasn't the best sleep I've ever had.

But finally...sleep. Peaceful, blissful sleep.

And then the realization that I had forgotten to turn off the alarm. It was a Saturday for God's sake. The only one real day that I have no responsibilities to wake for, and I've ruined it by the damn static beeping of my alarm.

"You've got to be kidding me...", is the only thing my overly tired mind could muster. Why. Why. Why.

And then I remembered in my sleep deprived brain that I was BoN for the day Friday. So I went down to my office to check on the stats on my computer. Do you realize that overnight while I slept there were 4,000 hits on the blog? 4,000! All over the world. That's amazing.

And so very cool.

I didn't dream it. It really did happen. ME! The not unlucky, but not particular golden girl. And to make my early morning ever more wonderful when I retrieved my cell phone from it's charging dock there was a message from Mr. 'Handsome Moving Sale Campaign Man'.

I got to thinking that it was a fluke. These kind of things don't just happen to me. Maybe the stars were aligned just so to allow me a glimpse into that other world. The one whose lives these things DO happen to. Just a little taste of the sweet life. The easy life. Of those that are golden.

There are days that come around every so often where you feel invincible. That's it quite feasible that events could continue to drift in the general direction of 'good'. That your mindset should enable pushing the envelope, to test your luck. Stretch it to the limit. Because it is quite plausible that you could win.

Everything.

Friday was one of those days. And yesterday continued in the same vein.

Wow. Two days in a row? The stars are going to stay aligned for me for two days?

Today? I believe I'm buying a lottery ticket. Hell, I might even buy two.

If there was a casino closer to my home, I might even go; put it all on Black. But I don't have the time...today. I'll start with a scratch off and see what that holds and then go from there.

Maybe I should start changing my ways since the stars are seemingly aligned in my favor. I might start taking a few more risks. Be a little less cautious and a little more carefree. Who knows what could be in store.

I feel a change in the air!

In the next day or so, watch out. A new Nancy is emerging. One with a little of the old diva Nancy mixed in.

I may just jaywalk.
For the hell of it, I may even drive over the speed limit.

I'm taking risks now. I feel empowered.

And I've got Handsome Moving Sale Campaign Man in my speed dial...

I can't wait to see what tomorrow is going to bring. It's been a good couple of days...

Thanks for being part of it.
:-)