When Life Gives You Lemons

So I drove to Upstate New York to visit my Mom and to take the dogs to the groomers and I ran smack dab into the 6th biggest snow storm to ever hit the region. The storm was so big that a state of emergency was declared and everything was closed, including the groomers. So when life gave me lemons.....I shoveled the snow.

From time to time we all have things go so horribly wrong in our lives that we must find something special deep down inside of us as a way to just keep going on. The most important part of those life's lessons is what we do with the lemons that are handed to us.

The old saying is, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."  Well this Greek girl likes making lemonade, I really do. The secret is using Truvia Natural Sweetener instead of sugar! Yummo!

Greek Girl's Secret Ingredient for Ava's lemonade

According to the website Innocentenglish.com the phrase “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” was not coined by someone's Greek grandmother, but instead by American motivational speaker and author Dale Carnegie. Yes, he was the same dude who's mostly known for writing the famous book “How to win friends and influence people” Personally, if you ask me I think the best way to influence people is to give them lemonade duh, winner!

I'm no Dale Carnegie, just a simple Greek blonde rocker chick who loves writing songs, singing songs and writing blogs.  So from the deep dark recesses of my coconut and with a little help from my friends, here are some newly coined phrases:

• When life gives you lemons, be sure to send a hand written thank you note for the lemons, as email thank you notes can appear to be less sincere.
• When life gives you lemons suck out all of the vitamin C and yell “EAT THAT, LIFE!
• When life gives you lemons ask for salt and tequila! 
• When life gives you lemons, make orange juice, then wonder how the heck you did it.
• When life gives you lemons, collect them and one day life will stop and you would have the most lemons ever. We all know the one with the most lemons wins.
• When life hands you lemons make lemonade and find Charlie Sheen with the vodka  and have a party - Winner!
• When life hands you lemons, keep them away from Mr. Bricks he will eat anything!
• When life gives you lemons alter their DNA and make super lemons!!!
• When life gives you lemons just shut up and eat your damn lemons already.
• When life gives you lemons sell them on eBay, you'll make a fortune.
• When life gives you lemons when no one is looking, throw them through life’s window and run away.
• When life gives you lemons make a reality series that leaves a sour taste in the mouths of the viewers like the Kardashians do.
• When life gives you lemons, squirt the juice in his eye.
• When life gives you lemons, find a kid with a paper cut.
• When life gives you lemons, sing a song, make it simple to last your whole life long.
• When life gives you lemons, ask for the receipt, you might need the deduction in a couple of weeks for your taxes - just sayin' every deductions counts!

Have a blessed day no matter what life hands you today!

Ava

xox

I Won The Lottery

Yesterday while I was at the mall I bought a $5.00 scratch-off lottery ticket. Guess what? I won! The Greek Blonde Girl just won the lottery my friends. Woot Woot. Alert the media. My manager Mr. Bricks said, "Ava move away from there" Said "Californy is the place you ought to be" So I'm gonna load up the truck and move to Beverly.  Hills, that is. Swimmin' pools, movie stars...

Well, yah, I did win the lottery but it was only $10. Not enough to even buy a turkey club sandwich at my favorite Greek diner, let alone buy a mansion in Beverly Hills.  But it did double my money. At least now I can add the words lottery winner right after blog writer to my list of accomplishments that also include actor, recording artist and song writer.

Have you ever fantasized of winning the Mega Millions or the Powerball? Both games are multi-state lotteries with huge jackpots. I have allowed myself to daydream the "what if" dream about winning the lottery. First off, I'd still do my music career. There is no amount of money that will ever get me to abandon the gifts and dreams God gave to me. Not happening folks. But if I did ever win big on a lottery, I would have such a great time helping those in need. It would be cool to help other musicians and actors who have not yet had their big break -- because I have walked a mile in their sneakers (or Crocs) I know what they are going through. I also would absolutely take care of my Mom and my family. They have totally been there for me.

Alright you have a couple of bucks (literally 2 one-dollar bills) in your wallet that your blue-haired grandmother slipped into your Christmas card. You think you want to try your luck on the lottery. So just how much could you win? Well according to the Powerball website here are the largest payouts for their game:

The largest Powerball jackpot of $365 million occurred on February 18, 2006 and was won by a single ticket in Nebraska. It was shared by eight persons who worked for a meatpacking plant. They elected to receive their winnings in cash, sharing $177,270,519.67 (before taxes). This is the largest prize awarded for a single ticket in an American lottery.

Jack Whittaker of West Virginia the claimant to the then biggest one-ticket jackpot, $315 million, won on Christmas, 2002. He elected the cash payout of $170,505,876 (before taxes).

On October 19, 2005, the West family of Jacksonville, Oregon won that evening's $340 million jackpot. However, the cash pool for their winnings was actually smaller than the $315 million jackpot from December 2002. Their cash share was "only" $164,410,058.03. The family won less than two months after the rules were changed to generate larger estimated annuity jackpots. Had the December 2002 jackpot been estimated under the current rules, it would have been $352.6 million.

On August 25, 2007, a jackpot worth $314 million was won by a retired auto worker from Ohio; that ticket was bought in Richmond, Indiana, a community that has sold two jackpot-winning tickets of at least $200 million each.

The other big multi-state lottery game, Mega Millions' largest prize won by a single ticket was for a drawing on November 15, 2005, a group called "The Lucky 7" held the single ticket, bought in Anaheim, California, winning them the $315 million jackpot. They chose the cash option, splitting $175 million before Federal tax. This remains the largest prize won by a single ticket in Mega Millions.

On March 6, 2007, the Mega Millions jackpot reached $390 million, which is the record for the largest jackpot total of any US lottery. The jackpot was divided by two tickets, which matched the all of the winning numbers and the Mega Ball number. Both winners elected to receive their prize in cash, with each share $116,557,083 before taxes.

Either one, or both of the Mega Millions or Powerball games are played in 43  states. The only states without either lotteries are Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming.

So which one should you put your Christmas money on? Currently, Mega Millions has better jackpot odds at (1:~176 million) than Powerball's odds which are listed at (1:~195 million.)

The next two drawings are:

Mega Millions Friday - Christmas Eve (12/24) estimated Jackpot amount $168,000,000

Powerball Saturday - Christmas Day (12/25) estimated jackpot amount $46,000,000

Good luck! Don't forget the Greek girl when you hit the jackpot!

Blessings,

Ava

xox

PS: You don't have to win the lottery to buy my CD's. I have a Christmas Bonus Sale on now through Christmas Day.