Tag: blog challenge

What I Would Do If I Won The Lottery

Some people think it’s immoral to be rich. I disagree. Unless you earned your money by doing something illegal, there is nothing wrong with being rich and keeping your money for yourself and your family. You earned it. Many rich people are philanthropists and help a lot of people through their charitable foundations.

I never understood people who spend $1000 on a purse or $300 for a pair of sneakers. Even if I had enough money to do that, I still wouldn’t. I’m not saying I don’t like nice things, I just don’t think some things are worth as much as some people are willing to pay for them.

The California Mega Millions Lottery is currently up to $41,000,000. If I won the that much money, the first thing I would do is set up some secure investments that I could live off the interest or dividends for the rest of my life. Too often you hear about someone winning the lottery, blowing all the money on super luxury items and then they are broke within a year.

I would definitely buy a nicer house on some land, but it would not be a million dollar house. I just don’t see the need for it. I just want a comfortable place to live in a nice neighborhood.

I currently have a luxury SUV, but I did not buy it new and so I paid less than half what it would have cost new. I would probably upgrade to the newer version and not have to finance it, but I still would not buy something like a Lamborghini or Ferrari.

I would also love to take a cruise and travel around the world. I think that would be a lot of fun. I would like to see the countries where my ancestors came from. Right now, that includes France, Germany, England, Scotland, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

After traveling for a bit, I would love to open my own art studio and share my knowledge with other people. I love teaching people to create things and get such a thrill seeing the surprise on their faces when they realize they made it themselves. That is so fulfilling to me. I would also like to open up my studio to share the space with other like minded artists and handicrafters. I think I could learn a few things from them, too. And, of course, I would have plenty of money to buy all kinds of new art supplies.

I know that a lot of schools are lacking funding for classes like art and music. If I won the lottery, I would like to set up an endowment to a local school to fund an art and music program. Maybe even donate supplies and instruments. Another cause close to my heart is helping veterans. Too many of our veterans are homeless. I have volunteered at events to help veterans apply for healthcare and VA benefits. I have helped make hats and sleeping rolls for homeless veterans, and made lapghans (lap-sized afghans) for wheelchair bound veterans. Winning the lottery would definitely allow me to do more for veterans in need.

Well, I am sure I would spend some money on foolish things, but I would like to think I would be able to put some aside so I could live comfortable and never have to work again.

Concerts and/or Shows I Have Been To

Concerts:

• Toto
• Howard Jones
• Styx
• Def Leppard
• Metallica
• Depeche Mode
• Alan Jackson
• Willie Nelson

Plays:

• Romeo and Juliet
• Hamlet
• Julius Caesar
• Taming of the Shrew

Ballets:

• Nutcracker
• Swan Lake

My Favorite Song(s) or Band(s)

I have a very eclectic taste in music. I can listen to anything from classical to country, and punk to heavy metal. Anyone going through my iTunes playlist would think I was schizophrenic. That being said, below is a list of some of my current favorites:

Songs:

• Dance Monkey by Tones and I
• Addicted by Kelly Clarkson
• Circle the Drain by Katy Perry
• Attention by Charlie Puth
• Do I Wanna Know by Arctic Monkeys
• Girl Crush by Little Big Town
• Shape of You by Ed Sheeran
• Feel Good Drag by Anberlin
• Inside Out by Eve 6
• Bring Me Down by Miranda Lambert

Bands:

• The Cure
• Tears for Fears
• Depeche Mode
• Linkin Park
• Sugarland
• Seether
• Puddle of Mudd
• Finger 11
• Hoobastank
• Charlie Puth

My Favorite Movies

As much as I love books, I also love a good movie. Here are some of my favorites:

I am a huge Sci-Fi fan and some of my favorite movies are in the Star Wars saga. I really like the original trilogy the most, and, except for Jar Jar Binks, the Prequel trilogy is pretty cool. I am not a huge fan of Disney’s take on Star Wars, though, but I still love the whole Star Wars universe and am glad that there are more movies in the works.

Some people think you can’t be a fan of Star Wars and Star Trek at the same time, but I don’t think that is true. I have been a fan since the original series was on television, though I was seeing it in syndication. I even had a crush on Captain Kirk at one time. I love how the new iteration of Star Trek is remaining so true to the original characters as much as possible and think that the Kelvin Timeline was a brilliant idea. It allowed the prequels to exist while allowing new story lines and still remaining true to the personalities of the main characters. And the casting was amazing! I never thought anyone could do Spock as well as Leonard Nimoy, but Zachary Quinto does a great job. And Karl Urban embodies the ever pessimistic Bones to a tee. Not to mention Chris Pine. He is good looking and exudes Captain Kirk’s super confidence.

I also like the Terminator Saga. I am fascinated by the idea that your fate is not set and how the different timelines didn’t really change the inevitability of Skynet becoming sentient and trying to terminate mankind.

I’m not just a fan of Sci-Fi, though. I am also a sucker for a hot man in a kilt! Besides the Starz series, Outlander, these three movies about strong highland men are among my favorites, too.

I could really go on all night discussing movies I love, because there are just so many of them, but I think I will just leave it at this.

My Favorite Books

I tend to favor books in a series, and one of my all-time favorites is the Earth’s Children series by Jean M. Auel. The first book, The Clan of the Cave Bear, was first published in 1980. It follows the life of a Cro-Magnon woman named Ayla, who is adopted as a young child by a clan of Neanderthal people, the Clan of the Cave Bear, after an earthquake destroys her home and separates her from her family. Ms. Auel did extensive historical research and the series touches on a theory that the Cro-Magnon man may have interbred with the Neanderthal, rather than just wiping them out. This has actually been shown to have some merit as DNA tests reveal that modern humans carry more Neanderthal DNA than previously thought. If you are interested, check out the Smithsonian Magazine article linked below.

Another of my favorites is the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. This is a romantic, time travel, historical series that follows Claire, a WWII British Army nurse, who falls through time after touching a stone in a druid’s circle. She lands 200 years in the past and meets Black Jack Randall, a British Officer who also happens to be her husband’s ancestor, and is a less than pleasant man. Claire is rescued by a band of highlanders after Black Jack mistakes her for a woman of ill-repute and is about to rape her. When the highlanders find out Claire is British, a sassenach, they don’t know whether she is a spy or if she truly needed rescuing, but decide there is too much risk to set her free. Over time, Claire ends up falling in love with a young highlander named Jamie, and not knowing if she will ever make it back to her time, marries him out of necessity to protect her from Black Jack.

The Starz Network has done an excellent job of adapting the books into a series and I can’t wait for the next season to start. The “droughtlander” is especially long this year due to Covid-19 delaying production.

I am really a bibliophile. I have loved books for as long as I can remember. I even participated in summer reading contests at the library when I was a child. The first book that I actually remember reading was Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry. This was a book about two orphan children who try to capture Misty, one of the wild ponies that live on Chincoteague Island off the coast of Virginia.

I collect books and hate seeing people who don’t value them as much as I do. I cringe when I see someone dog-ear the pages instead of using a book mark, or when they write in them, even when the book was meant to be written in. I have a kindle, and I do love the convenience of it, but I will always love the feel and smell of the real thing. One of my favorite places to go, besides craft stores, is the library or a book store. My grandson is in kindergarten now and is just starting to learn to read, but I have read to him almost every night since he was born, and I am trying to teach him to respect books, too. I was so proud when I caught him “reading” a book in bed the other night, when he was supposed to be sleeping.

Where Do I See Myself in 10 Years?

I will be eligible for full retirement from Federal Service in 6 years, 10 months and 10 days from today. Once I retire, my goal is to get out of California. I was born here and I love this state, but it is way too expensive to live here anymore and it really isn’t very friendly to small business owners. As of today, though, I am not sure where I will move to. There are more things to consider than just the cost of living. My entire family lives on the West Coast, so I don’t really want to move too far away.

So, even though I will be retired from Federal Service, I don’t plan to quit working. But, I plan to be making my income doing what I love, and that is anything related to art and handicrafting. I would really like to spend more time teaching others, though. I have always enjoyed the teaching side of creating. I love seeing the amazement on someone’s face when they realize that they, too, can be an artist.

I don’t want to teach in a traditional school, though. I have already done some teaching, either one-on-one, or in a small group in someone’s home. I would like to have my own art studio, preferably on my own property, where people can come to me and learn or just practice creating things with me in my studio. I haven’t decided if I want to go the digital route and film tutorials, or not. I really prefer teaching in person.

Besides teaching, I will have grown my business, HootOwl Handicrafts. Right now, it consists of just selling the occasional item, but I have done some commissioned work, too. So far, it has been paintings, crocheted items, handmade dolls and doll accessories, decorative items, or pieces of jewelry. But I am constantly learning new techniques, so I would like to expand my business to sell more of these items.

One thing I don’t see myself doing is the craft show scene. I would rather have an online store than to make a bunch of things and then lug them around town and hope I have what people want to buy. It just doesn’t seem like the most efficient way to do it. Not knocking people who do craft shows, some people are very successful at it. It just isn’t for me. With an online store, you can reach people literally all over the world and do it 24/7.

My overall goal for the next ten years, then, is to just do more of what makes me happy, and if I can make money while doing it, all the better.

What Would My Perfect Day Look Like?

My perfect day starts with my grandson waking me up, like he usually does, by running in and jumping on my bed saying, “Good morning, Grammy, I love you!”  The munchkin and I snuggle for a while before we get up and I fix him some French Toast with strawberries and bananas while he watches cartoons.

On my perfect day, I am retired from the VA, so we are not in a hurry to get dressed.  We eat our French Toast on the patio while the dogs run around in the yard.

After breakfast, I put a pot roast in the crock pot for dinner.  Then we walk down to the park and I watch him play and run around for a while.  I push him on the swings or encourage him to climb higher on the jungle gym.  I get worn out just watching him.  Our park has a pond with a fountain, and geese and ducks swim there.  We aren’t allowed to feed them, but they are still fun to watch.  After an hour or so, we walk back home.

Munchkin is worn out from the park, so I sit him down with a snack of fruit slices and yogurt while I crochet for a while.  I’m working on a baby afghan for a client who has her first granddaughter on the way.  I am so excited for her.

After Munchkin finishes his snack, he sits next to me while I crochet and he watches his favorite show, “Dino Dan”.  It’s an educational show about a little boy who is a budding paleontologist.  He and his friends have adventures and uncover clues about dinosaurs.  Munchkin has loved dinosaurs since he was 3 and he constantly surprises me with how much he knows about them.

Next, it’s lunchtime.  I fix one of his favorites, grilled cheese and tomato soup.  I always sprinkle Parmesan cheese on the soup.  Yum.

After lunch, Munchkin plays outside with the dogs while I work on the piece of art another one of my clients has ordered.  This time, it’s an abstract painting for above their fireplace mantle.

I can usually finish a painting in one afternoon, and now it is dinnertime.  The pot roast is tender and yummy!

Dinner is over and the dishes are done.  Now it’s time for Munchkin’s bedtime routine.  He gets to play in the bath for a while, then it’s a bedtime story, usually one about dinosaurs.  I tuck him in and turn out the light.  This leaves a couple hours of me time.  I catch up on a favorite series with a cup of tea and wind down.  Then get ready for bed myself.  It has been a good day, no, the perfect day!

A Typical Day in My Life

My Dream Job

We all have our own definition of what a dream job is. For some, it’s making gobs of money, for others, it’s being famous, and for others still, it’s about doing something meaningful. My dream job is doing something that is meaningful and fulfilling to me that brings joy to others, and if I can do all that while making gobs of money, all the better!

For me, that job is HootOwl Handicrafts. I am still working full-time for the Veterans Administration, so handicrafting is more like a hobby right now, but I will be retiring from my federal job in the near future and want to make HootOwl Handicrafts my full-time career. I want to create all kinds of things that others will enjoy, and also share my tips and techniques with others, either on this blog, or teaching in-person classes.

Besides handicrafting and creating art, I love to teach others to create. According to TollFreeForwarding.com, being a teacher and an artist are in the top ten of dream jobs. I would be combining two of the Top 10! So far, I have taught people to crochet, paint pictures, and to sew. I really enjoy teaching others, and love to see their faces when they realize that they are now artists or handicrafters, too.

During my long career with the VA, I have seen what our returning heroes go through as they try to readjust to civilian life. They are often dealing with disabilities, either mental or physical (and sometimes both), and veterans make up about 11% of our homeless population. It is my passion to help where I can, and as a veteran who comes from a long line of veterans, that is where I will be placing my focus. I will also be making art or handicrafting items that will benefit charitable causes. I will either be donating a percentage of the proceeds from certain items, or will be donating useful items, such as quilts, blanket rolls, hats, gloves, etc., directly to veteran organizations.

Creating beautiful and useful things makes me happy, and I plan to be doing much more of it in the very near future!

Jobs I Have Done

I have worked just about my entire adult life minus three short years that I was married and was able to be a stay at home mom.  The rest of the time, I have been a single working mom, and now a single working grandma.

US Navy – Data Systems Technician (AKA IT Tech)

AAA Travel – Travel Agent

Irving Oil Corporation – Human Resources Specialist

Federation of State Medical Boards – Credentials Specialist

For the Veterans Health Administration at several VA Hospitals – Medical Clerk, Medical Eligibility Advisor, Human Resources Assistant, and Advanced Medical Support Assistant (13 years total)

For the Veterans Benefits Administration at the VA Regional Office – Veterans Service Representative (7 years and counting)

Founder and CEO of HootOwl Handicrafts