Not Leaving On A Jet Plane

Cami has been here in California since Friday, April 9th. Her main objective was to spend quality time with Jamie. Most of you know about Jamie- she was in a horrific accident while serving in the Peace Corps in Kazakhstan. She is now in a rehab hospital in the Bay Area learning all the basics: how to walk, talk and eat again. Cami has been able to help with her therapies this past week. I was also able to have some quality time with Cami- especially for her 26th birthday! And she was able to see a few friends but for the most part she has been with Jamie, Jamie's friends and her family.

She was supposed to leave today to go back to Stockholm. Her flight was scheduled out of San Francisco early this morning. Well, Mother Nature was busy making other plans.............. Last Thursday a volcano in Iceland erupted throwing the world out of kilter. At least the part of the world that Cami lives in and then some. How do you negotiate with Mother Nature???? You don't! So we wait. She has re-booked her flight to go home next Saturday, the 24th. She will try and do some work for her job remotely. She will spend more time with Jamie. She will miss her sweet husband. I came back to Sacramento to work this week but will be with her again before she leaves. It is hard to not be in control of your own plans!!! What a lesson in patience. Pray for the clouds to dissipate or at least lessen. Oh- and pray for Cami's cold that she caught from me to get better.....

Words with Friends

When I got my new toy- my iPhone- I learned about "apps". Apps is applications for short for those that may not know, but I think I was the last one around to learn about them. Anyhow- some apps are free and some are not. So far I have 4 pages of apps on my phone. The ones I look at the most are Facebook, Weather, WorldView (webcams around the world), Around Me, Maps, and then some games-Tetris, Bejeweled2, Shanghai and Words with Friends. Words With Friends is so addicting! It is scrabble with other iPhone users. You can have up to 20 games at one time going on. So far the most games I have had going is 6. It gives me a brain cramp sometimes but so fun. I am always checking to see if it is my turn to play a word. Have to admit I had never heard of some words before like Qi, Xi, Qidar. Some words work that I never think is a word but you learn to try just about anything and if it goes through it's good. If it isn't good the game tells you. So thew, mauts, yar, and soli are some words I had no clue would work but they did! So if you hear someone talking about Words With Friends now you know.... If you aren't already playing it yourself!

The Millars have left California!

I'm home tonight after being in Washington for 4 days. Brooke, Evan, McKenzie and Brynn have moved to Redmond, WA. They bought a beautiful new home there. The cool thing for me is that it is a mile away from my sister's house! I will now get so see a lot more of her and her family which will be a great thing.

We unpacked for hours..... and took turns with the kids. I did get some one on one time with Sue and Pete so that was nice too. Susie is am amazing cook and she cooked us a great dinner one night. The area is so beautiful there, and the weather was great! It rained some but then the sun came out. So many times Brooke would get a warning about the weather... take vitamin D, get exercise, prepare to get depressed. Well- they DID do their homework before they moved there and it is pretty common knowledge anyhow about the weather up there. So I don't think they will be surprised.

So I am starting a new chapter in my life. I now officially have no children living in this state any longer. It is not going to be an easy transition for me..... It is going to be a challenge because I have become pretty dependent on being able to see Brooke and her family on a regular basis. I will still see them, of course. Just not every other weekend. I have a feeling I will be earning my Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Free tickets a lot faster now.

25 Years!

March 1st was my anniversary with AT&T for 25 years. If I hadn't taken 12 years off I would have 37 years total!! But I did take the time off - and the good thing is I was able to "Bridge" my service. So anytime someone reaches milestone anniversaries the company recognizes it. My whole team was able to go to lunch on the company's tab! We went to Buonarroti Ristorante here in Sac. It was great! Also- I was able to pick something out of a special catalog the company sent me- for my "award". I chose a Pentax Optio P80 Camera. So not a bad deal for reaching 25 years, huh??? I am not really crazy about the "New AT&T". Corporate is so much like Big Brother. They are implementing processes that don't always seem to work. There are fewer employees to do just as much work as before and we are always wondering if our group is next on the chopping block. But I am very fortunate. Fortunate to work with a really fun, amazingly smart group of people. All the years I was in Sales- I felt alone because of the competitive nature of sales. Since I have moved over to the support side I am able to be part of a team that has common goals. We all help each other. My job consists of hitting my head against a brick wall hundreds of times a day! Working with technology, processes that don't make sense, impossible deadlines and escalations, high maintenance customers, tracking systems that are a pain, and never ending job insecurity. But I am happy where I am. I love my group and other good friends that I have the privilege to be around (need to include Bryan and Ms T. here....). Each person in my group brings something different and unique to the group. I have never before felt like my co-workers "have my back" as much as this group does. I love being able to be of help when needed too. My boss is the best- she truly cares about us. So all in all- I am lucky to have the job that I do. I want to retire but still can't afford to- so for now I will get up and go to work every day and I do so willingly!! But only because I get to work with Lynn, Lisa, Chris, Judy, Anna, Yvonne, Theresa, Paula, Ben, Ramon, Deanna, Jamie, Michael, Marv, Gilbert, and our boss, Debbi.

My new toy

I bought an iPhone for my birthday present to myself. Do I need a reason to buy one? Not really - but in my mind I needed to rationalize. Lynn and I bought our previous phones on the same day- and to get a new one you need to be within 6 months of the end of the contract to get the discounted price for a new phone. So to the very day of being within 6 months of the end of our contracts- we went to the AT&T store and bought our new phones. I had grown to hate my old phone - it kept turning itself off. So I was more than ready for a new one...... I have been having a lot of fun with the new one. I like to think I am pretty techy but the truth is- I am not all that. I do OK but Lynn will be the first to tell you don't have the patience she does. I just want it to work immediately. And when I can't get it to do what I want it to do I get frustrated! Evan and Brooke gave me a few tutorials too.... so I am getting the hang of most of the apps. Lots of new lingo that goes with an iPhone!!! Apps, location on, brightness uses more battery, navigating Facebook is not quite as easy as on the computer, sending text, touch don't push, ding, words with friends, postcards, AroundMe, etc, etc etc, So I need to finish up - I am playing Words with Friends online with Lynn and I am also playing Bejeweled!

What a day!

I had a great birthday! It actually started earlier in the week when I got a great recipe book in the mail from Leigh. Then the phone calls started. Leigh called first! Then I went to dinner last night with Marcia, Tiffany, and Diana. We went to Bucca de Beppo. Lots of good food and fun conversation. Today was great!!! It started with being sung Happy Birthday to in Swedish by Cami! Goodies at my desk including the biggest balloon I have ever received, a plant, some toys, a beautiful purse!!!, lunch with friends, then cake at work in the afternoon. I also received some great emails, lots of messages on Facebook and more phone calls. I loved hearing from all of my granddaughters! I really do cherish the friendships I have. It is hard living alone and being so far away from my children and grandchildren. I don't think I could handle it if it weren't for my friends and other family! With all the heart ache that has happened the past few months that each of my children have experienced in different ways-- I am extremely grateful for the life that I have and all the people in my life. I look forward to the next 58 birthdays!

What Matters Most

My heart is hurting tonight.... Brooke lost a dear friend to cancer today. Catie was a young mother of 3 small children, wife to a sweet gentle husband. I am once again reminded of how fragile life is and to never take those that matter for granted. I try not to and will continue to work at that.



Catie's husband, Steve, has posted a beautiful tribute to Catie on her blog.
This is her blog : http://steve-catie.blogspot.com