ASHBURN, VA — For some folks, going to stay with your in-laws over the holidays can be either a delight or a prolonged exercise in mastering the art of biting one's tongue.

But for at least one particular reason, the trip certainly was the former. That's because when Sara Brown of the Stone Ridge area emptied the contents of her Christmas stocking, among the treats was a scratch-off Virginia lottery ticket.

She scratched it. She gasped. She figured it wasn't real. It was real, all right. Real to the tune of $200,000.

"I was in shock," Brown told lottery officials when she claimed her prize. "I asked my husband to check the ticket and asked, 'Is this real?' '' For the record, the Jewel 7's ticket (White Pearl) was purchased at Harris Teeter, 975 Emmet Street in Charlottesville. Her odds of winning the aforementioned top prize were 1 in 734,400.