But what it don't get I can't use...

One of the cool things that some members of Katie's family do for holidays is to buy the little scratch-off lottery tickets as a gift. If we receive a gift from a select group of relatives during the Christmas gift exchange, you know you're going to receive about a half dozen tickets in addition to whatever other gift you get. If one of us gets a birthday card in the mail, you know that the tickets will fall out of the card when you open the envelope.

We'll win a few bucks here and there; maybe a free card. No big payout. And none is expected. It's just fun.

Yesterday, I finally cashed in the winning tickets that we had been collecting since my birthday. In all, we won $4 and 6 free cards. I just took the whole thing in new cards for kicks. Not that we'd be out a whole lot even if we lost it all, right? And it's fun, so why not.

I came home with two $1 cards and four $2 cards. Katie and I split them up. She was grumbling because her first two paid out nothing while my three cards granted me one free card and $7.

Then I hear, "I think I won everything on this card."

Huh? So she shows me her card.

When you play these matching games, you're lucky to get one number that matches the so-called "Lucky Numbers." Every single one of the numbers on her card matched her lucky numbers. And she's going to net $100 as a result.

Not like this is multi-millions in the Little Lotto or Powerball or even the $20,000 payout the card professes is a possibility, but, considering we're leaving for Florida on Saturday, it's a nice little boost.

I think Katie's scratching all tickets from here on out.

And, no Karl, this does not mean we're paying for our little get together. We might buy a drink for Miss Britt, but she's cuter than you.