Ok, so I didn't hit the lottery per say. I have never been a gambler since I'd rather just keep my money. I've been gifted a few scratch tickets in my Christmas stocking and I sometimes win a couple of bucks. One time I won $100 so that was nice.

I went to a casino twice: I played the penny slots both times and once I won fifty bucks. You should have seen how fast I took that money and booked it! I was so excited to get lunch and gas for free! Haha.

Well, my dad is a big gambler. He's really struggled with addiction for a lot of his life (drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, etc.) Since maybe the mid 1990's, he's been doing really well with those addictions: doesn't drink, smoke, do drugs, etc. But he does gamble quite a bit.

So he hit a scratch ticket for $2500. He wins pretty regularly: usually under $500. He hit the number for $380 the night before he hit the scratch ticket. And a few weeks ago he hit for $100 then $200, etc. He certainly loses out most of the time (he never knows what he spends) but I'd rather him gamble than drink so it is what it is. He's able to live on what he makes and he's not in debt of any kind.

He's such a good dad! His first thought was my tution so he went ahead and gave me $500 and he'll give me another $500 at the end of the month for December. I'm so excited to pay that directly to BoA. I wonder if I'll be able to pay off the BoA by the end of the year (6 months early!). It feels far fetched but one never knows!

And, I've started thinking a lot about my holiday bonus and tax return. I know I'll be getting something from both which makes me smile!