If I had a million

I am sure I am not alone in pondering the thought of a million dollars and what I'd do with it. It is still a lot of money and you really could do awesome things with it. Well, let me rephrase that, if you manage it well you can do a lot with it.

The first thing I'd do is buy my dream home. My dream home is modest, yet has room for growth and company. It absolutely has to have an amazing yard with plenty of foliage and room for a garden and a game of catch or Frisbee. My home would also absolutely have to have a kitchen with plenty of room to move around with additional cooks and even company to sit near by and visit. This home also has to have built in book cases. If not that will be a wonderful adventure for me to learn to put in. Which brings up another point, my house must be an older home with mature landscaping and also opportunities to explore new possible talents that may lay deep within me. I am totally fascinated with interior design and carpentry. So, a home that will allow me the chance to see if I do have any skills in that area would be most desirable. My family is greatly into entertainment so I also need to have a large rec room to allow for an awesome huge TV, for movie night of course!, and plenty of room for kids, young and old, and games and other funness. I don't require the fanciest of things or newest of things. I ultimately want space and adventure. I have been researching homes and I have found home qualities that I like and dislike but for the most part the size of home I am looking for generally runs in this area at the price of 250 to 350. Mostly because of their location and the size of yard. Like I said I want an older home and they are generally closer to the price of 250, that is if the slump doesn't end and all the prices are jacked way up again!

The next thing I'd do is build my parents a home on their lot of land. First I'd rip down the trailer! I'd build them a home that met their needs. Single level and no stairs in front or back. I'd build them a home that had a large kitchen and even larger dining room. The home would have their master bed room, my Mom would have a craft/hobby room, and my Dad would have his "cave". There would also be at least 2 more rooms simply for visiting children and grand children. Which brings up another point, there would have to be a large family room with a large sectional sofa for when we all get together. My parents have 7 children and 20 grandchildren. The sad part about us getting together is that we all live so far apart that when we do gather there isn't adequate accommodations for us all. So, the home I'd build them would be large enough for us to visit, but not overwhelming for my parents to keep up. I figure that for where they live I could pull this all off for 200.

This leaves me with about $500,000 more. I would divide the money 4 ways, an account for me and my husband (we want to retire at a young age so that we can spend our senior years not only being awesome grandparents but also by serving multiple missions for our church, this has been a goal of ours since our wedding), 2 accounts one for each daughter, this would be for college, mission, or whatever they desire to achieve in life. The last portion would be donated to a few different charities that I have already predetermined, a children's home, abused women and children shelter, and my church's humanitarian relief program.

So, if I were to ever win, inherit, be the recipient of some kind to a million dollars, this is exactly what I would do with every penny!

What would you spend a million on?

Road Trip

Who has NOT been on a rode trip? Can you believe the magnitude of planning that goes into a road trip? Packing the suit case(s) and making sure you have clothing for any occassion or weather is a chore all on its own, but let's not forget the road maps (thank heaven for GPS!), adequate funds for emergencies and gas, making sure the vehicle is in proper running order and has all fluids topped off and tire pressure checked, snacks and other food and beverage stapels stored nicely in a cooler, and a quick prayer for safety and good weather. Wow! I am exhausted just from typing the list. Can you imagine how beautiful it would be to go on a road trip with the clothes on your back, someone else's credit card, and just the open road, no planning what so ever? I think that would be beautiful. No need to be anywhere at any particular time in no particular style. That would be fun and relaxing. Kind of makes me think of the movie Joe Verses the Volcanoe with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan (well the part about using someone else's credit card anyway).

While I was thinking on what an awesome road trip that would be I also started to think about how overwhelming real road trips are and thought how wonderful it would be to just hop on your own private jet (paid for of course with someone else's credit card!) and just GO to where ever it is you want to go! No real time required or effort for that matter.

So, after my little fantasy I came back to the real world and began to have real thoughts. Life is absolutely like a road trip. I was thinking about what kind of personality I have. Do I have the type that wants to hop on the helicopter and just skip all the preparation in life and just get to the end result quick and easy? Do I have the personality of the overcompulsive planner who makes a list checking it twice before loading everything and everyone into the vehicle? I concluded that I am neither. I am much more the type that says, "I want to go on road trip. That will be so much fun. Wow, we can go here and here and oh, we just have to stop and see so and so and can we please make sure and save time for this?" And then this is what would come out of my mouth or enter my mind almost immediately following the first reaction of excitement and thrill. "How will we pay for it, what if 20 miles into the trip we blow a tire, and what are we going to do if I get car sick in 3 weeks on the return trip, and what about the people we meet along the way, what if they don't like me or think we are crazy tourists and have no clue how to drive and they just want to run us off the road, and what about....". Exhausting being me sometimes. Can you believe that stuff? That is what I do in life! Unbelievable I know. I realized this sad truth about myself the other day when I was worrying myself to hives over something that is literally 5000 miles down the road in the road trip called life.

I am grateful for the realization of this character flaw of mine. I can't believe it took me this long to get the hint that so many loved ones have been trying to tell me. I suppose it is because, one I am a stubborn person and insist on learning the hard way and two, I am a visual learner, so when I came up with the idea of comparing myself to a road trip I relly saw what I was doing to myself and my family.

So, rather than literally freaking out all the time I am from here on out going to stop worrying about all the stuff that is so far down the road that I have absolutely no control over. I am going to relax, enjoy the present company in "the car", be thrilled about detours and pit stops and look for the positive opportunities in each. Now, if you can imagine what the pit stops and detours would be in life you can imagine what a new challenge this will be for me. But ultimately I believe the key to a happy road trip is loving and being happy with your choices and travel companions.