There is something sad about checked (losing) lottery tickets. All the possibilities are gone from them and they are just bits of paper, outlasting their usefulness. I put off checking my tickets so I can think of all the things I will do if I win. It's great to have that little fantasy. But, once you check the tickets you have to let go of all of that.

Right now I have five tickets to check. I wanted to make sure to check them before I move. I'm not sure if it would be a problem to collect winnings if I'm not officially living in the US, or even the state of Illinois. So I am going to the Illinois State Lottery site to check them. They are not too old, from the past couple of months. It would be so nice to win...

I would first of all tell Todd we need to take a long weekend trip to collect the loot. Todd says it's over in some town by the Missouri border, near St. Louis. So that could turn into a nice trip before the divorce is a done deal. Once I have the money I would put it into my Union Planters bank account, all but for $20,000 or so which I would use to buy a truck for moving and travel expenses including insurance for the truck. That way I could pack up the truck and just let Mom know I'm on my way up there without needing to wait and wonder any more. It would be so nice to have the drive up to Canada myself. I could take my time too, dawdle a bit, have a look at the Raggedy Ann museum in Arcola and wander up north to see Wisconsin before I cross the border. Wisconsin looked nice when I was chatting to a guy from there last month. It didn't work out with him but I still wouldn't mind the drive up there at all.

The rest of the money would go into travel, a house of my own (maybe the first place that I could really feel was my home) and of course savings so I could keep payments for electricity, taking some college courses, my eventual old age and etc. I would give money to family if I won a really big amount. Other wise I would be more careful about that and make sure I was ok first. I'd love to never have to worry about that whole bag lady thing. I could just freelance write without listening to family telling me I'm wasting my time.

Well, now I should check those tickets. It's nice thinking of what if but you have to come back down to reality. Walking around with your head in the clouds is a sure way to stub your toes.

"If you can get people to ask the wrong questions; they'll never find the right answers." - Thomas Pynchon

"The devil himself gets in my inkstand." - Nathanial Hawthorne

Heard on the Montel Williams show...

"There is no such thing as love at first sight. You don't see love, you feel it." Montel Williams.

... and you probably thought I didn't watch trash TV. Montel is probably upper scale trash but he takes advantage of people's pain to make a buck, even though he does try to help get the message out about some issues. Here, the Maury Povich show comes on right after Montel, I turn that off, I can't stand it any more.

"Success comes to a writer as a rule, so gradually that it is always something of a shock to him to look back and realize the heights to which he has climbed." P.G. Wodehouse

"I have never thought of myself as a good writer. Anyone who wants reassurance of that should read one of my first drafts. But I'm one of the world's greatest rewriters." James A. Michener.

"In composing, as a general rule, run a pen through every other word you have written, you have no idea what vigor it will give your style." Sydney Smith

"Only a mediocre writer is always at his best." Maugham

"There is no great writing, only great rewriting." Justice Brandela

"It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I was too famous." Robert Charles Benchley

"Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, and then for a few close friends, and then for money." Moliere

"Television has proved that people will look at anything rather than each other." Ann Landers

"A room without books is like a body without a soul." Cicero

The Writer - Another even older blog.

Writing and publishing online and still putting in time on my regularly scheduled life.

I was born in the Year of the Dragon, more than a few years ago. 2000 was another year of the Dragon, in December I married Todd, moved to the US and became an expatriate. Spirit of the Night

I work as a freelance writer online and in print. My favourite colour is deep, dark red. When I'm having a bad day going outdoors always makes me feel better. I'm reading the same book I started 6 months ago: Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd. I'm not especially musically inclined, I can turn on the radio and be happy leaving it in the background.

Written for my About/ profile on the LockerGnome.

Life doesn’t stop for us just because we feel we look fat in everything. Don’t fall into becoming a hermit and letting your goals, your passions and your life itself just slip on by. Grab on!

Having just typed that I have days where I hide behind the front door and just don’t get out. It is handy having the washer and dryer here now instead of going to the laundry mat. I can even order in food when I have the money. But you can’t order in life and all the explorations and adventures you are missing out on.

What are your interests? Mine include rural and urban exploration (old abandoned buildings), ASCII art, pixel art, drawing, cartooning, personal web publishing, writing, reading, photography, philosophy, spirituality, dabbling in web design and web development, small and home business, self help, creative arts, graphic arts, baking, quilting, sewing, embroidery and family.

There is always something new around the corner, you just have to keep looking.

Before I called this column/blog Creative Fat Grrl, or after (I forget which) I had the title:

Blogging Should be Sexy - Blogging should be personal, artistic and sexy. Imperfect, experimental web publishing for free spirits.

I wouldn't use either of those titles now. For different reasons.

You don't have to be traveling afar to send postcards to people 'back home'. You can be a pen pal and write to people around the world. You can also join groups like PostCrossing. "A project that allows you to send postcards and receive postcards back from random people around the world".

But, what do you write on a postcard, especially if you aren't traveling, seeing new places and faces?

You can write almost anything, fairly short to fit on a postcard. Introduce yourself. Write about some interesting thing you did, or saw, or heard about. Write about your location - whatever image your postcard shows. Ask questions about where they live - you have their mailing address so you at least know where they live.

Don't assume you have nothing interesting to write about. If you are traveling and sending postcards home to family and friends you certainly have new things to make note of. Silly things that happened along the way. Something that you did or heard, smelled, touched, watched, or tasted. What do you think about the places you've seen. What would your family/ friend like to know about: history, hobbies, different customs, sports, food?

If nothing else, just write about your day. A postcard can be a snapshot of your day, your adventures, your ideas.

Don't forget to use good penmanship. Postcards are usually hand written. Although you could try out mail art, someone still needs to read or understand what you write.

What could you write about if you were sending a postcard today?