Dear Randall Stephenson (or whom it may concern at At&T) -
I recently purchased a 3G iphone online at att.com. Upon check out I was told that I would have to pay an additional $30 a month for the data service. My husband has the 2G phone and only pays $20. I was on the fence about getting the phone in the first place, as it seems too much to pay $50 a month plus our family plan fee to both have an iphone. I was talked into it, and I am pleased with the phone. I had text messaging turned off of my old phone since I did not want to pay the 9 cent fee for every text. I called in yesterday to turn the text feature back on. The person who answered the phone informed me that I would have to pay an additional $14.99 a month for texting! Really? I am paying you $30 a month just for the phone and you are expecting me to pay an additional fee for texting? I was so flabbergasted I did not know how to respond. I asked to speak to the manager and I had to wait 30 minutes to do so. The original employee came back to the phone and asked me why I wanted to speak to the manager three times. I don’t understand, I have been talking to you for 15 minutes and you don’t know why I want to speak to the manager? Thirty minutes later, the so-called manager came on the phone. We went through the same conversation I already had, she informed me I had to pay the additional fee. I asked why 200 text are included in my husbands plan that is only $20, but I am paying $30 with no texting? Her response? “Ma’am, what do you expect me to do?”  My response? “How about some customer service? I have been an ATT customer for over 10 years. I pay you every month for home phone, home internet, dish television, and two cell phones. Can you not do anything to please me as a customer? Give me a $10 discount a month so I can have texting and then I only pay $4.99 additional? At least agree with me that that is ridiculous to pay an additional $14.99 when I am already paying $30?” Her response? “Ma’am, I do not know what you expect me to do, all smart phones are billed that way.”

AT&T – where is your customer service? When are you going to draw the line on outlandish billing? Please allow texting to be included in the $30 iphone fee.

Sincerely, Nichole

To my friends and family – you are going to have to call or e-mail, I will have no text!

Five years ago on December 16, 2004, Mr. Nikki Made and I were engaged. Look at our faces–that was right after the moment. The photo below was the actual moment. It happened on a bench at the Christmas-lit downtown square. We had gone to a Christmas party before, and had often gone to see the lights when we were dating, so it was not out of the ordinary. We sat down on the bench and he started telling me about a verse he read and how it reminded him of me. I thought he was going to say that he loved me. We had not talked about marriage or said I love you or even said we were dating exclusively. Imagine my shock when he stood up from the bench and got down on one knee. I was so flabbergasted that my first response was “Are you serious? Is this a joke?”

Thank you Mickel, for the best Christmas present of my life! I love you!

The three of us have been a little under the weather lately. Nothing serious, some winter “blah’s”. Lots of rest, movies and hot tea.

We put up our Christmas Tree over the weekend, and Brooks is enamored by it. He stands in front of it and lightly touches it. He calls every ornament “mong”, which is his word for ball.   The weather is chilly, great for scarves and mittens. I wish it would snow!

Hoping to finish the rest of my Christmas decorations tonight. I received an early Christmas present and have been preoccupied playing with it.