sorensonfan41's Blog

I decided to take some more pictures of Miss Kitty today.....this time, some of her being lazy on the ottoman.

In this picture, you see that Miss Kitty has a funny way of being comfortable sometimes.  She sometimes will turn her head upside down and stretch out (and most of the time, when she does this, she's purring).

In this last one, Miss Kitty is like "What are you doing?"

Oh yeah, I couldn't resist rubbing her belly after taking those pictures.  She enjoyed it.....doing nothing but purring the whole time.

Lottery stuff:

I've mentioned that I've won $100 6 times on tickets.  Well, if you look at my blog posts, you'll only see 5.  That's because my 1st one came before I started taking pictures of big wins....and it was also when I started playing scratcher tickets on a regular basis.  This was July 2004, a few months after I graduated high school.  I had just gone to the 4th of July carnival at a local park......not having much luck on those thingamajigs that push quarters and other prizes toward you and move closer when you drop a quarter in one of 3 slots.  I had decided to call it quits.  Afterwards, we went to a store that I still frequent for my lotto runs (although I haven't done it in a while, since I've been going to that tobacco mart near a Goodwill store to do my lotto runs).  I had around $40 or $50.  I went in and bought $20 worth of tickets.  I don't remember all the tickets I purchased, but I know I bought some $2 Double Lucky 7s and a couple of a long-retired $2 ticket called Mad Money.

I scratched off the Double Lucky 7s.  On one of them, I hit double 7s in all 10 games for double all $1 prizes (for $20).  I thought, "Whoa....sweet!"  I had only a couple of $2 Mad Money tickets....the last 2 in the roll.  The first one was a loser.  The 2nd one........first, let me explain how Mad Money was played.  Mad Money had 2 tic-tac-toe-like games and a bonus box where you could win $20 if you got the correct symbol.  Well, in the 1st game, I hit $30.  In the 2nd, I hit $50.  In the bonus box, I got the correct symbol for $20.  That, folks, was my first $100 winner.

Here's a list of my biggest winners on each denomination of tickets the GA Lottery has and when (with a bunch of them being found in my blog posts):

$20:  $100 (see last blog post.....Thursday on a $20 GA Lottery 15th Anniversary Millionaire Extravaganza via $50 + $20 + 3 x $10)

$10:  $100 (all in blog posts......Feb. 2008 - Cash Explosion (5 x $10 + 10 x $5 via firecracker "win all"), another Cash Explosion (4 x "bill" $5), May 2008 - Cash Explosion (5 x $10 + 10 x $5 via firecracker "win all"))

$5:  $60 (in blog post.....May - $250K Cash (15 x $4 via truck "win all")

$3:  $40 (2005 - Barrel of Bucks¹ (Buck $3 + $10))

$2:  $100 (2004, Mad Money - $50 + $30 + $20 bonus box)

$1:  $100 (in blog post....2005 - Junior Jumbo Bucks (Jumbo $20))

¹Like with the $2 Money Bags (see 1st blog post for $80 winner, which, BTW, is the biggest win I've had on a $2 ticket since that Mad Money winner), I used to have a ton of luck on the $3 Barrel of Bucks.  I was constantly hitting $20 and $30 winners left and right (via Buck $2 and $3 respectively) on those.

Other stuff:

Bah bloody humbug......Reed Sorenson got caught up in The Big One^TM on the final lap in the Pepsi Coke Zero 400.

Ah....peace at last after the crowds on Friday.  I was about to go crazy.

Speaking of Coke Zero......even though a Coke driver didn't win, everyone still gets a free 20 oz Coke Zero.  Find the site (I forgot the URL) and grab yourself one.  It's free (except for sales tax in most if not all cases).  Can't beat that.  Go get yourself a free drink.  C'mon, don't be shy.

Until next time, may all your lottery tickets be nothing but big winners.

I went down to the same ol' area where the Goodwill store is located.  Once again, like I've done for the past few times I've been down there, I headed over to that tobacco mart with a $20 bill.  It was business as usual.......until I started scratching my first ticket.

I started off my slow playing with a $1 GA Lottery 15th Anniversary.  Like with the "Match your # to winning #" games for slowplaying, I scratch off the numbers and prizes first.  On the 5th item, the very last one, I hit the peach symbol to instantly win $15.  I scratched the winning number and there were no matches, just the peach for $15.

I had $19 left of the original $20, so, I took a $5 bill out of my pocket and used that and the $15 winner to buy one of the new $20 GA Lottery 15th Anniversary Millionaire Extravaganza tickets.  For slowplaying those (Get x symbol to win prize, x symbol for (bonus), and x symbol to win all x prizes), I scratch off the area where the numbers (or symbols if it's a winner) are first.  If it's a number, I scratch off the prize (even though it's not a winning deal).  If it's a symbol, I wait until I'm done with the ticket before scratching off the prize(s).  Well......

(picture isn't best of quality because I didn't want to cause a 20-mile-long side scrollbar on everyones' browsers)

.....I think an old saying came into play:

"Good things come to those who wait."

Remember last week (or something like that), an old guy was in that tobacco mart slow playing those $20 tickets?  He hit 2 losers in a row, saying before scratching the 2nd loser off that he was going to call it quits after that, only to buy the next one in line and hit a $100 winner (when I had every intention on buying that next ticket had the guy not beat me back to the cashier).

Well.......I finally hit mine........my 6th career $100 winner ($100 is my biggest win on a single ticket to date).  As you can see, I hit 5 cash symbols.....$20, $50, and 3 $10s.

I endured some boring shopping.  My mother went down there later to get her tickets.  She bought 5 $2 Cut The Deck tickets, only to have them all be duds.  I bought 2 after hers using 4 $1 bills I had in my wallet and wound up with a free ticket on the 2nd one.

4 tickets bought (that was it)........3 winners (1 being a big one, 1 a decent blip on the radar)......wowzers.

The KACHING Meter for July 3, 2008:  11.7

If I were to buy a ticket(s) tomorrow and I hit winners, they'll be added to the 11.7 since the KACHING week is Sat. through Fri.

Wowzers.......and that's the biggest winner I've ever had on a $20 scratcher (previous was a single $50 # match on a $500 Million Club).

While I'm posting this, I do have a correction to make concerning tickets I've never won a dime off of.  I did manage a free ticket when the $2 Treasure tickets first came out; therefore, I did win something on those.  I have now officially won something (even if it's just a free ticket) on every ticket the GA Lottery has.

Until next time, may all your lottery tickets be nothing but big winners!  Happy 4th everyone!

Is there anyone out there who likes to cook?

I like to dabble into some cooking myself on occasion.  I haven't cooked anything homemade in a long time because of the move, but I can't wait until I get back into it.

I'll share one of my recipes (since I can't find the other one......my "still workin' on it" chili that I haven't memorized yet):

Seasoned Potato Wedges

You need a pan, some foil, potatoes, extra virgin olive oil, shredded cheese, cooked bacon (can be the microwave bacon, which is what I use), steak sauce (A1, 57, or store brands of those) and whatever seasonings you prefer (in this recipe I'll be using cayenne pepper, ground red pepper, sea salt, and black pepper).

First, cut the potatoes (I leave the skin on) into small wedges.  Toss them in the foil-lined pan, drizzle some EVOO (extra virgin olive oil for those of you who've never heard of Rachael Ray ) over the 'taters, then lightly sprinkle seasonings on top (for my spicy wedges, I sprinkle, in order, sea salt (optional, sometimes I don't use it), black pepper, red pepper, and cayenne pepper).  Put 'em in a preheated 375 oven for 15 minutes (time may vary depending on various circumstances).  After 15 minutes, take them out, turn them over, sprinkle more seasoning on the other side (you don't need any more EVOO at this point), and put them back into the oven for 15 more minutes (again, time may vary).

When they're done (I'd stick a fork or something in some of the bigger ones to check and see if they're done), immediately sprinkle shredded cheese on top of the 'taters.  Put the wedges into a plate, top with cooked bacon, and drizzle a little bit (don't need much) sauce on top.

I'll warn you if you decide to use my recipe for spicy wedges........have plenty to drink on hand, because they're spicy.

It may be one of the most unoriginal recipes out there, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

I'm mostly a hamburger (cheese, bacon (if available), and sauce (ketchup, BBQ sauce, or steak sauce only) only), chicken nuggets/fingers/tenders, pizza, and mexican foods (beef and cheese tacos, burritos, etc.) person.  I hate seafood.  I'm picky on what I eat.   Oh yeah......I do like certain hot and spicy foods.  I like certain kinds of hot sauces and spices.

I do like to do some simple cooking, such as fixing BBQ chicken tenders (simple as in using frozen chicken nuggets or tenders, dipping them in BBQ sauce, and baking them in the oven for 15 or so minutes) and playing around with simple recipes such as sloppy joes and tacos.

I'm open to any recipes, ideas, and suggestions any of you might have.

Until next time, if I can spell it right, "bon appetite."

....according to ESPN, Nascar, and Jayski.  Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates shut down the 40 Sprint Cup team today.

I'd like to take back a statement I said in a previous blog post and change it to this......

If I were Dario Franchitti Reed Sorenson and Juan Pablo Montoya, I'd dress like woman and child and get the hell off of the Titanic called Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.  (They say it's to "improve" the other 2 teams......but I buy that as much as I would an already-scratched losing $20 scratcher.)

Random stuff:

Note to self:  If you ever order the popcorn chicken shakers from Arby's again, get plenty of extra napkins and don't shake the cup with lid too hard.  If you do, you'll have a couple pieces of sauced popcorn chicken on your shirt.

If I get a qualifying KACHING this week, it'll be posted on Thursday.  That's when I'll do the usual weekly lotto run since Friday is the 4th.

I dread Friday.  We're gonna have a massive crowd over here for a cookout.   The only thing I won't dread is doing something I've done for many years as a kind of a tradition for me......wake up early in the morning and catch the Peachtree Road Race live on WAGA Fox 5.

Until next time, may all your lottery tickets be nothing but big winners.  Oh, yeah, have a SAFE and happy 4th of July.  Stay hydrated and be safe with fireworks.

All of these pictures came from the old place, FYI.

I was putting a hamburger steak on the George Foreman grill.  Before that, I had put a plate on the table.  I turned around from putting the steak on the grill.......to find Miss Kitty sitting in my plate.

Before I go on, Miss Kitty is a pretty old, very lazy persian cat.  She has a strange fetish for laying down on paper and boxes and wanting water out of a sink rather than a bowl (although she did drink out of a bowl when we were moving......we actually prepared and got her to do that several days before we moved the old trailer out).  Miss Kitty is also very moody.  If she doesn't want petting or doesn't like you, she will slap at you.  She can't do any real damage, though, because she's declawed (she was given to us that way).

There's Miss Kitty sitting down on the table....being her lazy self.

Here's Miss Kitty rubbing against my mother's foot.  This was a few weeks after we first got her.

And finally, my favorite picture of Miss Kitty is this.....

I had to teach Miss Kitty a lesson about basic strategy in blackjack..........always SPLIT your aces.....don't hit them.  She wouldn't listen....she hit it anyway (her paw patted the felt wanting to hit ).  She got lucky, because the dealer busted.

And that, folks, is my lazy ball of fleas I call Miss Kitty.  She, despite being moody, is a very lovable and peaceful cat.  If she's in a good mood, she might even climb into my (or my mother's) lap, lay down, fall asleep, and purr.

I usually will refuse to have anything to do with animals, being that I'm not an animal person, but Miss Kitty has been pretty much the only exception.

Are there any Hell's Kitchen fans out there?  Watching the show is a guilty pleasure of mine.  I like watching Gordon Ramsay yell and go insane when chefs screw up something (but, personally, I couldn't handle all the yelling and screaming in my face).  I'll try not to spoil last week's episode in case there's anyone who hasn't watched it yet, but I'm rooting for Petrozza (I hope I got the spelling right.......if not, I sure as hell couldn't pass a contestant exam for Merv Griffin's Crosswords ).  Oh yeah.......is it me, or do they mostly pick people who smoke to be on Hell's Kitchen (not intentionally by any means, though)?  It seems like the vast majority of contestants during the past few seasons of Hell's Kitchen smoke when they're in that "lounge" area.  I don't have a major  problem with it or anything.......it's just something I've noticed.

YAHOO!  Reed Sorenson finally got another top 10 finish.    I still think Reed's going somewhere else next year, though.  If he does, if I were Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Franchitti, I'd dress like woman and child and get the hell off the Titanic called Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.  If Tony Stewart leaves Joe Gibbs Racing and buys into Haas/CNC Racing and Ryan Newman goes with him (as rumored according to Jayski's Silly Season Site), I'd like to place a small wager Reed ends up in the #12 for Penske.  It's just a funny feeling I've got.....and, no, even if Reed leaves the 41, I have no plans on getting on my knees and begging Todd to let me change the 41 in my username to the new number.

I finally have my bed up here in this new place, and boy does it beat sleeping on a mattress in the floor.  I've gotta get pictures of Miss Kitty up sometime, though, as I promised in a prior blog post (I might upload them after I post these random thoughts).  Life is almost back to normal.

Speaking of Miss Kitty, we've got a brand new sectional sofa in the living room, and Miss Kitty has done nothing but lay down on the ottoman, curl up on her side, and purr......all......bloody.....day.  But we all know one thing........she's been a happy cat all day......a happy-go-lazy (not lucky) cat.

Well.....that's all for my random thoughts.  Until next time, may all your lottery tickets be nothing but big winners.

I've seen people post about dreams of hitting a big winner in their sleep recently, and it reminded me of a dream I once had.

This happened a few months after the GA Lottery introduced its first $20 ticket, GA's $500 Million Club.

I dreamed that it was a Friday afternoon......everything seemed normal during the usual lotto run.  I went inside and bought myself one of those $20 tickets.  I scratched it off and hit a number match.  I scratched off the first prize and my eyes nearly popped out of my head.  I kept scratching without revealing the prizes........and my breath was taken away....all 20 matched.  When I scratched off the rest of the prizes.......I just about fainted.  It was like this.....

(and, once again, I wonder about the $10,000 winners -- I've seen single number matches for $10,000 and I've seen 10 x $1,000 -- I wonder if there's something like 20X symbol $500, 10X symbol $1,000, or all 20 matches for $500 each)

			4		1		25		8		6		10
25				6				25				4				8
$500				$500				$500				$500				$500
4				4				6				1				10
$500				$500				$500				$500				$500
6				8				25				25				1
$500				$500				$500				$500				$500
1				25				10				8				6
$500				$500				$500				$500				$500

Saturday:

For the 1st 2 winners, see last blog post.

Later on, I went with my mother and stepdad (after getting some tables and lamps for the living room) down to the Goodwill.  Actually, they went down to the Goodwill while I went down to that tobacco mart to slow play some more tickets and cash in the $30 and free ticket winners from earlier that morning.  The winners.....

Free ticket on $2 Jumbo Bucks Classic

$3 (3 x $1) on $2 Red Hot & Wild 7s

$7 ($7) on $2 Triple 777

$3 ($2 + $1) on $2 $50,000 Bling

$2 and a free Fantasy 5 quick pick ($2 + F5) on $2 Fast 5s (counts as $3 or 0.3 for the KACHING Meter)

Free ticket on $3 Mighty Mega Bucks

$6 ($5 + $1) on $3 Big Bucks

There were some losers in among those, but didn't lose too much dough.  I wound up being down $10 after it was all said and done (plus, this slow playing streak didn't last long.....they didn't stay in Goodwill for long).

Monday:

I decided to buy $10 worth of tickets in the form of a $5 $500,000 Hold 'Em Poker ticket, 2 $2 Jumbos, and a $1 Junior Jumbo Bucks.  I wound up with $10 ($10) on the poker ticket, $3 ($3), and a free ticket on the $2 Jumbos.

Friday:

Went to the Goodwill again.  Didn't hit too many winners this time, though.

$3 (3 x $1) on $2 Red Hot & Wild 7s

$4 ($2 + 2 x $1) on $3 Big Bucks

Free ticket on $1 GA Lottery 15th Anniversary

$3 (3 x $1) on $1 Junior Jumbo Bucks

Free ticket on $3 Mighty Mega Bucks

$5 (# $2 + $1) on $5 Green and Gold

While I was in there, there was another guy playing the new $20 tickets that GA has (I haven't tried one....yet).  The guy had just won $25 (from what I saw, it was $10 + 3 x $5) and decided to get another one from another roll.  He lost on that ticket.  He got another one.  He said, after getting that one, that he would call it quits after that one.  He didn't win on that one.  I was scratching off that $1 GA Lottery 15th Anniversary when he said that.  I told myself that I wasn't going to buy one of those $20 tickets today so I could extend my slowplaying for a while and not blow it all so quickly.  I had discovered that free ticket on that $1 GA Anniversary ticket and started to pull a $20 out of my wallet to buy one of those $20 tickets when.........the guy decided to buy the next one in line before I could get back over to the cashier.  I put the $20 back in my wallet (because I was going to be a vulture and swoop in and buy the next one in line after seeing 2 of those new $20 tickets in a row being duds had that guy walked out of the store ).  The guy scratched it off.......and you wouldn't believe what it was......

.....a $100 winner (the guy showed me the winner......it was $50 + $30 + $20).  Man.....so close to matching my biggest winner for the 6th time.   He bought one and, after not winning anything, actually called it quits and left.  I continued my slow playing for a bit longer until it was time to scram (still managing to not blow all the dough I bought with me for scratcher playing because, yet again, we weren't there very long).

Oh well......not the best of weeks.....but we all can't have big winners and profits every week.

The KACHING Meter for June 27, 2008:  9.1

Oh yeah......and forgive me if I'm telling you guys and gals stuff you already know here......but, FYI, here's how I "slow play" my scratchers.

For games where you "match your numbers to winning numbers" or something very similar:

I don't scratch off the "winning numbers" right away (1, 2, 3, 4, or however many you get depending on type of ticket).  Instead, I scratch off the "your numbers" and the prizes......very slowly scratching the number.....and then scratching off the prize....rinse, lather, repeat until they're all done.....then I scratch off the "winning numbers."  If I hit a symbol to multiply the prize automatically (e.g. a Jumbo symbol on a Jumbo Bucks), I don't scratch off that particular prize.....I wait until everything is all finished with the ticket before revealing the prize.  If I hit a "win all" symbol, I STOP scratching off the prizes and reveal all the other numbers, including the winning numbers FIRST (even though the numbers are pointless at that point).  THEN, I scratch off all the prizes.

For games like "Find a (symbol) symbol, win prize shown.  Find a (symbol), win (bonus).  Find a (symbol), win all x prizes automatically.":

I scratch off all the prizes FIRST.  Then, I reveal the numbers (and symbol(s) if it's a winner).

In either of those cases, if I hit a winner, I scratch off the entire play area clear of that paint that's on there.  However, if the play area starts getting damaged in any way after revealing everything, I immediately scratch off the validation numbers at the bottom (as delicately as I can) and cash it in as to not risk destroying the ticket and not being able to cash it.  It seems like the $5 Giant Jumbo Bucks here in GA are very moody about the play area wanting to come apart when you scratch it off.

Note that I scratch off the whole entire ticket clear of the latex paint stuff (or whatever it's called) ONLY when I'm slow playing tickets.  I did it Saturday on the $2 Jumbo $30 winner just because it had all 10 prizes being won.  Normally, if I take a picture of a big winner and it's not a "win all" situation, I just scratch off all the prizes (and numbers or symbols) clearly to try to make it look somewhat neat in that particular area.

Normally, if I'm in the car going somewhere and I stop and get some scratchers, I just scratch off the winning numbers and your numbers, only revealing the prizes if there's a number match, correct symbol, or multiplier/win all.  I can do a bunch of tickets quickly doing that.  But, when slow playing, I actually go slower than cars "driving behind the interstate pace car" known as a police car.

(and to finish that Larry the Cable Guy reference........"the police car pulls off at the next ramp and.......back to green flag racin'!" )

Until next time, may all your scratchers be big winners.

I used some of that $30 I won yesterday to buy me some $2 Jumbo Bucks Classic (4 to be exact) while I was out going to yard sales.

Didn't find anything at the yard sales, but I did find these.....

I wound up hitting $30 and a free ticket.  My mother hit a $30 winner exactly like mine a couple of years ago.  I have to wonder if all the $30 winners are all 10 # matches for $3 each, like I wonder if all the $75 winners are Jumbo $10 + # for $25.  I wish the GA Lottery would release that kind of info like South Carolina does.

But, hey......what a nice way to start the day.

May all your scratchers be big winners (hopefully with nothing but number matches if it's that kind of game).

My mother and I decided to go to a Goodwill store today.  While she went inside to shop, I went down to the same tobacco mart that I mentioned previously, which is a couple of doors down from the Goodwill.  I decided to slow play (buy one ticket at a time.....hit a winner and switch to another kind unless the winner is $20 or more -- in that case, like last week, I took the dough and decided to endure some boring shopping) some more tickets while she shopped.  Well, I hit a nice flurry of winners.  Here they are, in as close of order as I could remember:

$16 (8 x $2) on $10 $150,000,000 Slots of Luck¹

Free ticket on a $2 Jumbo Bucks Classic

Free ticket on $2 Red Hot & Wild 7s

Free ticket on $2 10 Times The Money

Update:  Missed this one -- $2 ($2) on $2 $50,000 Bling

$5 (5 x $1) on $2 Double Time

$10 (2 x $5) on $2 Fast 5s

$5 (Jumbo $1) on $5 Giant Jumbo Bucks

Free ticket on $5 $250,000 Cash

Free ticket on $5 Green and Gold

Free ticket on $3 Mighty Mega Bucks

$6 ($3 + 3 x $1) on $3 Big Bucks

$7 (2 x $3 + $1) on $5 Jumbo

$5 (Jumbo $1) on $1 Junior Jumbo Bucks

$3 (3 x $1) on $2 Jumbo

Free ticket on $2 Jumbo

$6 (2 x $3) on $3 $100,000 Monopoly

Free ticket on $5 $35 Million Blowout

and finally, just as my mother walked in (because she forgot her cell phone at the house, or else she woulda called me when she was ready to go), I used that free ticket to buy a $5 $500,000 Hold 'Em Poker ticket......and, after I scratched it in the car as we were leaving to go grab some lunch, it was a $30 winner (3 x $10).  At first, I thought it was only $20, but I looked at a hand again and realized that I made a jack-high straight over the house's pair of jacks, and scratched the prize, which was another $10.

The KACHING Meter for June 20, 2008:  12.3 (updated to reflect $2 breakeven I forgot about)

BTW, there were some losers intermingled among those winners; however, I didn't hit more than 3 consecutive losers before I hit a winner.  I did hit 3 losers in a row on a couple types of the $2 tickets (10 Times The Money and Red Hot & Wild 7s), but on most of the others, I hit a winner on the first ticket or 2nd.  Also, about going to a different kind of ticket......normally, I don't go back to the same kind of ticket during my slow playing; however, a crowd came in while I was slow playing and bought multiples of certain kinds of tickets (a lady bought 5 each of 3 types of $2 tickets), especially the $2 Jumbo Bucks Classic, so I decided to get in line, buy one, and let others buy some more of the $2 Jumbos before buying another (the $3 winner near the end of the list was that "one" I was just referring to....used it to buy another one during the 2nd round after the crowds bought some more and left and hit that last $2 Jumbo free ticket).

¹That $16 winner on the $10 Slots of Luck was my very first winner EVER on those.  I had abosolutely no luck on those in the past.  Now I can cross that one off of the "tickets I've never won a penny off of" list.   Actually......thinking about it........that may have been the only one I've never won a dime off of.  I'll have to check the list of GA Lottery instant games and see.

Update to that:  Nope.....the $2 Treasure is the only one now.

Until next time, may all your scratchers be nothing but big winners.

Good ol' Friday the 13th.......

Saturday:

I bought $9 worth of tickets in the form of 4 $2 Red Hot & Wild 7s and a $1 Spicy 7s.  I wound up hitting a free ticket on a Wild 7s and $3 on the Spicy 7s.

Friday:

While my mother was shopping in Goodwill, I went to a tobacco mart down the street to slow play some scratcher tickets.  She also wanted me to get her some $5 $250,000 Cash tickets while I was down there (the same kind where she hit $50 2 weeks ago via Moneybag 5x $5 + 5 x $5).  I got one after her 2 (which were duds, BTW) and won a free ticket to start off my slow playing.   I decided to get a $5 Giant Jumbo Bucks, which was a dud.  I decided to get another.....and it was another dud.  Got another.....and another dud.  I then decided to switch gears and try the $1 Junior Jumbo Bucks.  First one was a dud, so I pulled out another dollar bill and got another one.  Finally another winner.......a $25 winner (Jumbo 5x $3 + $10).  I decided to take my money and call it quits until later.

Later on, I went to another store to use some player club coupons that expire at the end of the month.  I had 4 coupons and $6, so I decided to use the BOGO (buy-(at least) one-get-one-free) coupons for Cash 3 & 4, Fantasy 5, and Win For Life.  I also decided to buy a $2 Double Time ticket and wound up hitting a free ticket.

Profit-wise, it wasn't the best of days.....yet again, not all lotto runs can be the best of winning streaks either.

The KACHING Meter for Friday, June 13th:  3.7

About the move update......I've got another desk put into place (got it at a thrift store for $12).  I'm slowly getting back to normal.  This place is nowhere near getting close to finished, though.  It's going to take a little longer than I thought, although it's safe to move in and all that.....or else I wouldn't be in here typing this.   We've gotta get the porch (maybe porches...don't know yet) back on, get straw (for grass) on the ground, get some gravel (because this place turns into a swamp of mud when it rains), etc.  Heck, I don't even have my bed from the old place yet.  I've been sleeping on a single matress, in the floor, that I (along with some help) brought up here.  When everything is finished, I'll get some pictures of the new place.  Just realize that it may be a couple of months or more down the road.

May all your scratchers be nothing but big winners.

First, the other stuff:

YAHOO!  We finally have central AC in this house.  No more having to sweat 24/7 in here!

Now to this weird dream I had:

It was a cloudy, rainy day.  The Nascar Sprint Cup Series had TWO weekends off before the last 3 races of the season in the "Chase for the Cup."  Nascar implemented this 2-week break so teams could test on a new road course, which had finished later than scheduled due to a tornado that hit while the course was being built.  This new road course was built in Jasper, GA (just outside where I lived.....less than 1 mile from my house).  It was a 14-turn road course designed after the streets of Jasper, with elements of Martinsville, Laguna Seca's famous corkscrew turn, and Talladega (including a sweeping, Talladega-style-banked turn before getting to the long straight with the pits and the start/finish line).  It was the longest course ever raced at in the history of Nascar.  The course was asphault and concrete with the walls lined with nothing but those SAFER barriers.....even on the straight parts of the track and all the inside walls.

Well, Nascar had cancelled the testing for this particular day because it was raining.  I went out of my house and went to the local Mrs. Winners.....which had shut down 2 years ago.....with a sandwich shop replacing it until it went bankrupt, even after being featured on Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares on Fox with Gordon trying to fix the place....then someone got a Mrs. Winners back into that location.  I went in for some delicious steak and gravy, BBQ baked beans, and potato wedges.  I went in.....the lines weren't long, but all the tables were about full........full of Nascar drivers!  A.J. Allmendinger, Kurt Busch, Sam Hornish, Juan Pablo Montoya, Mark Martin, David Ragan.....among others (no, unfortunately, Reed Sorenson wasn't there ).  I went in, ordered, and then realized that all the tables were full and I had ordered dine-in.  Well, I got my food and started looking around.  All the drivers were saying howdy and all that.  Then, Jeff Burton invited me to his table, seeing that all the tables were full.  Everyone recognized me after seeing me at the track.  I sat there, ate, and chatted with Jeff.  While I was eating and Jeff was talking stuff with Richard Childress right quick, I looked up at the TV.  It was an ad for Good Day Atlanta (a morning show on WAGA Fox 5, for those who don't know).  The guest on tomorrow's show......Reed Sorenson.  He was going to be on there to talk about the new road course and how much he liked it when he tested there a couple of days ago.  On the speed charts, Reed was over 6 seconds faster than 2nd place on the speed charts....held by teammate Juan Pablo Montoya.  They were doing well while everyone else struggled.

I finished eating and got up when Kurt Busch decided to ask some questions about the course.  It was then that I woke up and realized the sun was shining in my window.

The reason all the drivers recognized me and asked me questions and all that......I was the one who designed the course.  I was the track owner.

I do have weird dreams sometimes, don't I?

Saturday:

Bought a couple of $1 Monopoly tickets.  Hit $2 ($1 + $1) on one of them.

Sunday:

Hit 2 free tickets on 2 $1 Junior Jumbo Bucks, a free ticket on a $2 Jumbo Bucks Classic, a free ticket on a $3 Mighty Mega Bucks, and hit $7 (MEGA for 5x $1 + 2 x $1) on another one.  Went to cash those in, bought 2 $3 Golden Ticket tickets and hit a free ticket and $18 (6 x $1 + 6 x $2 via star "win all" symbol).

Monday:

Decided to buy a couple of $2 Hit $100 tickets.  Wound up hitting $15 (5 x $2 + 5 x $1 via HIT "win all" symbol) and a free ticket.

Tuesday:

Decided to get the money and use the free ticket to get a $2 10X The Money and wound up with another free ticket.

Friday:

Decided to cash that in and buy some of the new $2 Red Hot & Wild 7s tickets.  I wound up hitting $10 (7 for 7x $1 + $3) and $7 (7 $1).  I decided to keep some cash and try a $5 $500,000 Hold 'Em and another $2 Red Hot & Wild 7s ticket at a tobacco mart near a Dollar General while my mother went in shopping (no, FYI, I don't smoke or use tobacco.....I just bought lotto there because they sold tickets).  I wound up hitting my first ever winner on the hold 'em tickets.....$15 (previously, when they first came out, I bought 4 and didn't win squat....and bought 5 of them late last year and didn't win squat)......and hit $21 on the 7s ticket (7 $2 + 7 $1).  On the way back home from shopping, I went to another store to get some cash and 3 more of those 7s tickets.  I wound up hitting yet another $7 (7 $1) and $3 (3 x $1).  I stopped by another store right quick and took the moolah.

The KACHING Meter for June 6, 2008:  11.9

Another good week.  I know this kind of luck can't keep up for long.  I'm due for hitting a streak of 10 consecutive losers or something to that effect.

Until next time.....may all your tickets be winners and hopefully have multipliers and win all symbols.

Saturday:

Decided to buy me a couple of $5 $250,000 Cash tickets.  Hit $10 ($10) and a free ticket.

Sunday:

See above ($10 + ticket), except $10 winner via a moneybag symbol for 5x $2.  Later on, went to another store and bought another $250K Cash and hit another $10 ($3 + $2 + $5).

Monday:

We needed to get some clothes washed, so I went with my mother to find a laundromat that was open.  We stopped at a store before going to one.  I went in, cashed in some of those winners I mentioned, and bought a $5 $250K Cash and 5 $3 $75,000 Cashword tickets.  I decided to wait and scratch them off while the clothes were washing.  We went to a laundromat a few feet away from the store......and they were closed.  We missed the closing time by about 15 minutes.  We decided to go to another one....and it was open (24/7 to be exact).  So, I loaded clothes into the washer, put in the liquid and quarters, and got 'em started up.  I started with the $5 ticket 1st, because the Cashword tickets take a while to scratch off.  I wound up with a free ticket on that.  I then started on the Cashword tickets.  I scratched off the first one, being slow and being sure I scratched off all of the applicable letter(s) and not miss any.  I finished the 1st one as the load of clothes were finishing up in the washer.  It was a $10 winner (5 words, 1st puzzle).  I put the rest of the tickets and the winners in my pocket, unloaded the clothes out of the washer and into the little rolling baskets that some laundromats provide, went to the dryer, and stuck 'em in and started it up.  I continued scratching the rest of the tickets.  2nd ticket......won $15 (5 words in 1st puzzle, 4 words in 2nd).  Got to the 3rd ticket.....won a free ticket with 3 words in the 2nd puzzle.  As I was scratching the 4th ticket, the clothes finished drying.....or so I thought.  Not all the clothes were finished, so I took out the ones that were dry, left the others in there, put in some more quarters, and let the rest of them dry.  After folding the dry clothes and putting them away, I finished the 4th ticket, which was a dud.  On the 5th ticket......I had just finished scratching it off when the remaining clothes finished drying.....or, once again, so I thought.  Some more were dry....some more weren't.  Out came the dry ones, out came more quarters, and started the bloody thing up again to try the rest of them.  Thank goodness the dryer cost was pretty cheap (a quarter, IIRC).  I folded the dry clothes and checked the ticket.  It was another $15 winner, same method as the other one (5 + 4).  4 of the 5 tickets were winners.  I was pleasantly shocked (although, with the way my luck had been running, I shouldn't have been surprised ).  Oh yeah, I had a free ticket on a Junior Jumbo Bucks as well that I had totally forgotten about and discovered upon a 2nd look.

Tuesday:

Decided to keep a ton of that moolah when I cashed in those winners and buy a $3 Happy Mother's Day and a $2 Betty Boop.  Hit $6 (3 x $2) on the Mother's Day and $3 (3 x $1) on the Betty Boop.

Wednesday:

Decided to cash them in and let it ride.  I bought 3 $2 Triple Fortune and a $3 Big Bucks.  Didn't win anything on the Big Bucks, but I hit 3 consecutive free tickets on the Triple Fortune tickets.

Friday:

Decided to take a few bucks along with the free tickets from Wednesday and cash them in at a K-Mart when I went shopping for a computer desk (because the one I had in the old trailer will not fit in this one....waaaaaaaay too big).  I bought me a $2 Jumbo Bucks (wanted to buy more, but it was the last one), 2 $2 $50,000 Bling tickets (woulda bought more, but those were the last 2 in the roll), and 2 $2 Double Lucky 7s out of the vending machine they had.  I hit $3 (3 x $1) on the $2 Jumbo, 2 free tickets on the $50,000 Bling, and $14 ($3 + 77 for double $2 + $7) and $3 (77 $1 + $1) on the Double Lucky 7s.  I took my moolah and started shopping.....with no luck in finding a decent computer desk for a decent price.

The KACHING Meter for May 30, 2008:  12.8

Still not too shabby.  Personally, I don't mind buying tickets from the ends of a roll, as I've had good luck with the 1st and last tickets of a roll in the past (hit $40 on the 1st back in late 2004 and $100 on the last......it was my 1st $100 winner ever back in 2004).

Well, I'll be trying out the new tickets from the GA Lottery either today or tomorrow (or both).  I've gotta scram and get some stuff done.  I also want to give some lovin' to my cat, Miss Kitty, who, as I'm typing this now, is sitting in my window (with a screen so she can't get out) being lazy.  I've gotta show some pictures of her sometime as well.

Until next time, may all your scratchers be nothing but big winners.

Ok.....so, I went into the old trailer and dragged out the digital camera to get pictures of the big ones.  Some of the pics might not be in the best quality....because I couldn't use the scanner to scan the big winners.

5/23 KACHING Report

It started small, but wound up big.

Friday:

Bought a few $1 Junior Jumbo Bucks tickets.  Wound up with a free ticket.

Saturday:

That morning, we went to the trailer (before it was moved over here) to do some stuff before the big move of each half of this double-wide.  I decided to cash in that Junior Jumbo and buy some more tickets....in particular, the $2 Jumbo Bucks Classic.  I wound up hitting $5 (5 x $1), 2 $2 winners (each via 2 x $1), and a free ticket.  After going out to grab some stuff (notably white paint for the ceiling), we went by the same store to cash in those tickets.  I decided to let it ride and buy some $2 Vacation Cash tickets.  Well.....on the 2nd and 3rd tickets.....

....hit a $3 winner (on the right) and on the ticket after that (on the left).......hit a big one.  It may be blurry, but in Game #10, I hit the "Cash" symbol to instantly win all 10 prizes.....8 $4s, $8, and $10....for a total of $50.  After calling it quits at the trailer for the day, I went back to the very same store, kept $40 in cash, and bought a $10 Cash Explosion and a $3 Weekly Bonus 2008.  Well....the luck continued.  On the Weekly Bonus, I hit a single # match for $15.  On the Cash Explosion, I won a free ticket.  I went back into the store, kept $15 in cash, and bought 5 $2 Triple 777 tickets.  On the last one, I hit 2 red 7s for triple $2 each and a black 7 for $2 for a total of $14.  I went back in, getting some exercise in the process, and took my dough and called it quits.

Sunday:

We went back to the trailer.  Before that, though, we went to the very same store before we got there and I decided to go in and buy $10 worth of tickets......5 $2 Triple Fortune tickets.  I don't have pictures, because I cashed them in before I got back to take pictures, but here's what happened.  4 of the 5 tickets were winners.  In order.....$27 (3 x $9), $15 ($$$ for triple $3 + $$$ for triple $2), loser, $6 ($$$ $1 + $3), and a free ticket.  I hit another $50 in winners.  I cashed them in.

Later on in the day, we went to another store to get gas.  I decided to buy a $2 Fast 5s (last one in the roll) and 4 $2 Mega Bucks.  I won $2 and a free Fantasy 5 ticket on the $2 Fast 5s (for the KACHING Report, it counts as a $3 winner -- 2 x $1 + Fantasy 5 logo), $2 ($2), and a free ticket on 2 of the Mega Bucks.  I decided, with a couple of spare $1 bills that I had, to go into another store later that evening, and bought a $10 Jumbo Jumbo Bucks and a $1 Junior Jumbo Bucks.  I wound up with a free ticket on both.  That $11 was key to another big one that came up tomorrow.

Monday:

I went to Kroger with my mother to grab some groceries and stuff.  I took that $11 from yesterday and went to the customer service desk to cash them in.  A very pretty (and I mean H-O-T) young gal, who was probably just a couple of years younger than I am (and I'm 22, FYI), took the tickets and scanned them....telling me I had $11.  I looked in the display case and, instead of taking the money and going over to the lotto vending machine, saw they had the $1 Double Your Luck and the $10 Cash Explosion tickets.  I got 1 of each.  I didn't win anything on the $1 ticket, but on the Cash Explosion ticket.....

....does that look familiar to something in my 1st blog post here?  I'll be darned if I didn't hit another firecracker symbol to win all 15 prizes.....10 $5s and 5 $10s......the same exact method as my 1st $100 winner on those.  I went back to the customer service desk and thanked the pretty girl for that ticket.

Later on....I went to the same store where I hit that $50 winner and the $50 combo of winners and cashed in that $100 winner.  I kept $80 in cash and bought 2 $10 Millionaire Mania tickets.  I wound up hitting $15 ($10 + $5) and $20 ($10 + 2 x $5) on them.

Friday:

I went to cash in that $35 in winners.  I kept $20 in cash and bought 2 of the then-new $5 $250,000 Cash tickets, 2 of the then-new $2 Betty Boop tickets (about darn time the GA Lottery gets a licensed brand game besides Monopoly), and a $1 Junior Jumbo Bucks.  I hit $3 ($3) and a free ticket on the Betty Boop tickets.  The 1st $5 ticket was a dud.  The 2nd.....

....a truck symbol to win all 15 prizes....all of them $4 for a total of $60 (sorry for the blurry photo....remember...didn't have a scanner available).  I went back into the store and took the moolah.

I've never had such a huge streak of winners like this, not even back in February when I hit 2 $100 winners and a $70 winner.

The KACHING Meter for May 23, 2008:  a 37.2 -- a brand new KACHING record, surpassing the 1.92 (what now would be a 19.2) from 2005.

I'll post the 5/30 KACHING Report probably tomorrow.  I'm kinda tired right now.

Until next time, may all your scratchers be nothing but big winners.