8 Years

It's hard to believe that it's been 8 years now since Mom got brave and left her abusive marriage. Tonight we went out to celebrate. Fittingly, today was Mom's day to get her professional photo taken for her new website, so she looked extra beautiful :-)
The last 8 years have been filled with ups and downs for sure, but we're both standing tall and proud, much happier and more fulfilled than we ever could have imagined being. Many lessons have been learned, and there are more to come in the future... But rest assured, we are ready to take on any and all challenges that may lie ahead... When we become free from repetitive cycles of abuse, dreams which never seemed attainable become possible, and happiness and contentment become a reality. The door opens up to love and a life anew. Is it always easy? No. But it's worth every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears that accompany leaving the past behind and building a better future. Here's to the first 8 years of freedom, and to many more!

Joing the Crowds...

I never thought this day would come, but it has. Yesterday my husband and I left T-Mobile for AT&T. After 16 combined years of service (and three months of using a rip-off phone, the HTC HD2, which T-Mobile PROMISED would surpass the iPhone), we calmly walked into the local AT&T store and signed up. We had some idea about just how awesome the iPhone would be... After all, I've had an iPod Touch and and we've seen plenty of iPhones amongst our family, friends, and colleagues. However, nothing quite captures the experience of having your own iPhone for the first time. I supposed after our horrifying HTC HD2 experiences, the iPhone would seem perfect... The touch screen technology is incomparable, the graphics and interface crisp and intuitive, the battery life surprisingly strong (we're not super heavy data users, which is probably why). And the APP store with thousands upon thousands of apps to choose from (compared to the measly hundreds offered by Windows Marketplace)... Perhaps the biggest surprise of all is that we joined the crowds, something we don't usually do, for a product that actually is super cool....