The last couple weeks I've been involved in a thing or two only because I need the money. I'm not talking drug peddling or prostitution or any other equally unsavory deed, just things I really wouldn't be doing if I didn't need the money.

Which has gotten me thinking about a few other things I wouldn't be doing if I had more money.

If I won the lottery, I would no longer:

• clip coupons for grocery shopping.

• go to the grocery store, for that matter; I'd shop online and have my groceries delivered.

• drive to Denver each time I fly somewhere; I'd fly out of my local airport, no matter the cost.

• drive my dinged-up 1998 Ford Explorer...to Denver or anywhere.

• feel like my blog photos are inferior; I'd have a better camera and take photography AND Photoshop classes.

• be without cable television.

• buy my dog's food at Walmart.

• feel guilty that my piano has not been touched in months as I spend nearly every waking moment on tasks that might make a penny here and a penny there.

• delete without viewing the weekly e-mail newsletter announcing upcoming concerts and performances.

• deal with obnoxious neighbors; I'd build an 8- to 10-foot-tall fence (height depending on ordinances I've not yet researched). Or I'd move.

• turn down invitations to cover interesting events because I don't have the travel budget to get there.

That said, at least I'm able to buy groceries and dog food, have a vehicle to drive, can fly to see my daughter and grandsons now and then, and receive invitations to attend interesting events.

Yes, things could indeed be far worse.

Still, it sure would be awesome to win the lottery.

Or Publishers Clearing House.

I'm not picky.

(Just a complainer now and then.)

Photo: MS Office

Today's question:

If you won the lottery, what would you NOT do?

When Jim and I were first married, we were pretty darn broke. We stayed home nearly every Friday and Saturday night, playing backgammon and gin rummy and dreaming of better days to come.

"If we had all the money in the world," I'd ask, just to break up the monotony of me him winning all the time, "what would you want to be doing right now?"

His response and our discussion to follow usually went far beyond what we'd be doing that night if we had money, evolving into how we'd spend the entire stash if we won the lottery: fancy dining experiences, fast cars, hip clothes, trips to exciting/interesting/exotic places, attending concerts across the country of our favorite bands.

Fast forward 28 years.

While we no longer stay home every Friday and Saturday night, we do still talk often about what we'd do if we won the lottery. And those conversations are where we really show our age.

Here's the list of things Jim and I are adamant about doing if when we win the lottery, in order of priority:

Tithe
Pay off our gargantuan PLUS loan we took out for the girls to get the educations we didn't.
Pay off our gargantuan house loan.
Support our moms.
Pay for lots of things for the girls (cars, homes, etc.).
Hire a weekly housekeeper -- who, at Jim's request, would do the windows every other week.
Dole out one-time cash gifts to our siblings plus a few nieces and nephews.
Buy the house next door and totally raze it, allowing us to have back our view of Pikes Peak and making way for the most awesome play area for the grandkids.
Put a 10-foot fence around our property.
Buy a cabin in Flagstaff.
Visit the Pacific Northwest ... often.

I'm sure we'd do a little clothes shopping, a lot of book shopping, a little dining out and add trips to NYC, DC and Bruges. But on our current list there's nary a mention of fancy cars, fancy clothes, wild and exotic trips.

Nope, the majority of our plans for the load of cash revolves around making life a little more comfortable on the homefront and for our family. We're getting old, it seems, and relaxing at home and knowing our family is safe and financially sound is really all we're looking for at this point.

Although ... those concerts mentioned years ago ... we'd still shell out bucks to catch concerts across the country. We're not that old yet!

Today's question:

If you were to win the lottery (regardless of whether you buy tickets or not), what is the very first thing you would buy once you claimed your prize?

My answer: Dinner at a NON-fancy restaurant after picking up the check at the lottery office. We're not fancy restaurant kind of people; a modest restaurant that serves excellent steaks and even better lemon-drop martinis would be our ideal celebration spot.