“Winning the lottery” may not be a sound investment plan, but it’s paid off for a lucky few. Here are some of the biggest jackpots in U.S. history:

➡ $390,000,000. In 2007, two ticket holders (one from Georgia and another from New Jersey) split this Mega Millions jackpot, both choosing a lump-sum payout worth $116,957,083.

➡ $365,000,000. This was a Powerball jackpot in 2006, jointly held by eight co-workers at a meat processing plant in Nebraska. The lump-sum payout came to $177,270,519.67.

➡ $315,000,000. A group calling itself “the Lucky 7” invested in this winning ticket in 2005 and took a lump sum of $175,000,000.

➡ $314,900,000. A West Virginia man won a Powerball drawing in 2002, collecting a lump sum of $170,505,876

➡ $294,000,000. A woman in Lowell, MA was the sole winner of a July 2005 Mega Millions jackpot, taking home $168,480,412.

Comment on our blog to let us know what you would do if you hit it big!

1. This won’t last forever.

2. This doesn’t affect every part of my life

3. I’m not necessarily to blame.

Adopt these statements to maintain a positive, creative frame of mind.

Share your thoughts with us on what you do when life gives you lemons!

Here’s how to take control of your nighttime visions:

✦ Keep a dream journal. The first step to controlling dreams is remembering them. Keep a journal close to your bed, and write down any dream you have as soon as you wake up (or keep a digital voice recorder handy). Look for recurring themes—people, situations, etc. This trains your brain to become more aware of dream activity.

✦ Do a “dream check.” Throughout the day, pause and ask yourself, “Am I dreaming?” This trains your mind to start asking the same question while you’re asleep.

✦ Nap. Some studies suggest the best time to attempt a lucid dream is during a nap taken a few hours after getting up in the morning. If you wake up during a dream, stay quiet and try to return to the dream as you drift off again.

✦ Perform a reality check. After some practice, you’ll start being aware of the fact that you’re in a dream. To confirm this, try some experiments: Look at a clock, turn away, then look again. In dreams, the time will change. Or look at yourself in a mirror; in a dream, the image you see will be distorted or blurry.

✦ Take off! Once you’re aware that you’re dreaming, try taking charge of the environment. Jump up and down to see if you can fly, for example. If you’re having a nightmare, confront the danger instead of running away; this can reduce the fear you feel when you wake up.

Carve Out Time For A Family

Project: Jack-O-Lanterns

One pleasant way to spend a day in October is to carve Halloween pumpkins with your family. Here are some tips on carving the perfect jack-o-lantern:

✦ Draw a pattern for the pumpkin face on a piece of paper.

✦ Trace your design onto the pumpkin’s exterior.

✦ Cut into the top of the pumpkin at a 45-degree angle to create a “ledge” that won’t allow the top to fall back inside when you place it back on.

✦ Scoop out the seeds and insides of the pumpkin, leaving about one inch in thickness.

✦ Slice out the pattern, working from the center of the design outward. Cut larger areas in chunks to make them easier to remove.

Is it the great feeling you get when an unexpected check shows up in the mail?

Maybe it's just knowing that the company you choose to do business with ACTUALLY cares about you, and wants you to know that by sending you a check?

Or maybe it's another reason, but whatever the reason, we sure do get a lot of great feedback every time we do this program.

We thank you, our clients for the wonderful support you've shown and the hard earned money you've spent with us - we appreciate it.

Got some thoughts for us about our rebate program? Or anything else we do here at Professional Auto Care?

Leave us a comment below.

We look forward to hearing from you,

- The Entire Staff At Professional Auto Care.

✦ Sell photos to stock photo websites. Stock photography sites offer generic photos of landscapes, animals, and other nonspecific subjects to designers and publishers. Go through your travel photos or your pictures of Fluffy and Fido and then check out sites like istockphoto.com and shutterstock.com.

✦ Sell your books. Go through your bookshelves. Are you hanging on to your old college textbooks? Are you really going to read A Tale of Two Cities ever again? You can sell books online or at any local second-hand bookshop.

✦ Sign up for consumer focus groups. Corporations and nonprofits doing market research need opinions from regular people. Make yourself available for focus groups, and you could earn $50 to $100 or so for an hour or two of sharing your thoughts and reactions to ideas.

✦ Sell your unused gift cards. Maybe you have a gift card from a store that doesn’t have any outlets in your area. Selling it online can help someone else and can add money to your pocket that you wouldn’t see otherwise.

Share your thoughts and comments on this story.

We want to hear from you!