Months ago, we switched our phones from Alltel to Nex-Tech. They had better service and were cheaper. We got free (adequate) phones, a $50 sign up bonus and $200 per line we switched. So, $400 total. This went to pay off the early termination fee that Alltel gave us for quitting that contract early. It is a good deal, but if we break the Nextech contract within 2 years, we have to pay back that $200 per phone AND pay another $200 per phone. So, they really got ya once you sign up.

We got on a promotional plan, which was 1000 daytime minutes, 1000 text messages and 1000 night/weekend minutes. Since April, the highest bill has been $83.59, and the lowest bill was $64.14. Except this month...$329.41!!! I about crapped myself. I called Nex-tech and said something must be wrong, because we had never had that high of a bill. I called Friday, and the guy then couldn't make any changes because his supervisor wasn't there, but he did say that he would investigate which real plan (vs. promotional plan) would be better for us, and he could retroactively apply it to this bill. We would just have to keep that plan for 3 months before we could change it again. The customer service guy took my number on Friday and made a point to call me back today.

He told us to go with the Nationwide 1300 plan, which is unlimited Nights and Weekends, unlimited Mobile to Mobile (which means any Nex-Tech or Kansas Alltel phone...and hardly anyone around here has any other cell phone except those. My brothers and sisters in KC are the exception, but I text my brother, rarely talk to one sister, and talk to the other alot. Come to think of it, I think that Nex-Tech has an agreement with Sprint, so all calls to Sprint are considered Mobile to Mobile as well, so they would be free, meaning KC family would be free too!), 1300 anytime minutes, 10 free calling circle, and $.35 per minute outside the coverage area...meaning outside of Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado or Missouri. Any calls when I am at work, or on the way home for about 20 minutes, will count towards the 1300 minutes, because that is in the "nationwide" part, not the "in coverage" part. That plan will be $62.46! A savings of $261.95. I couldn't believe that they would do this retroactively!

Kudos to you, Nex-Tech. I was ready to beg and plead, and if that didn't work, just suck it up because I did sign the contract, but you made things very very easy.
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Well, we have had a productive two weeks. Two weeks ago, we had beans to cut, wheat to plant, milo to plant, cows to move home, bales to move, feed to bale, and calves to wean. DH had to help our landlord with his wheat, his soybeans and his milo as well.

Well, as of today, we got the beans cut, the milo cut, the wheat planted, and the calves half weaned. The landlord's wheat is planted, his soybeans are cut and I think his milo is almost cut.

It has been a stressful two weeks. Er, and I didn't help matters by getting mad that DH was helping the landlord and other neighbors instead of doing our work (in my mind). I think that I have a legitimate beef about that, but I think I had better get used to it because that is just how he is. He would give you the shirt off of his back, let you take his pickup and walk, and give you the food off his plate...and nice though that is, sometimes it is a little much, especially when I am the one juggling bills and trying to make sure that we pay all of our obligations. If your beans are still in the field, it is a little hard to sell them to pay bills.

I say we have the calves half weaned, because we do it a little different than most people. Most people get the cows and calves in, sort the calves off, let the cows out in the pasture, move the calves a few miles away and put some grain out for the calves. The cows stand around mooing looking for the calves, the calves stand around mooing looking for mama, and after about 3 days (with both cow and calve hoarse from effort and exhausted trying to find each other) they finally give up calves start eating. The calves have a high chance to get sick at this time, because they are constantly roaming the pen, aren't drinking water, aren't eating anything, and bawl something awful.

We use something called "Quiet Wean". They are little plastic yellow nose flaps that you put into the nostrils of the calves. It is sort of like a bull ring that people used to use to lead bulls around? Anyway, the ends of the plastic have little balls on the end so that there is nothing pointy inside their nostrils, but it can't easily come out. The plastic flap then covers the mouth when they try to nurse, but they can drink and eat real food just fine. That way, they are around mom, but learning to eat by themselves. After about a week, you separate them, and they are fine! They naturally weaned themselves, and when you put them in the pen, they just start eating and drinking right away. You have to get the cows in twice, a week apart, so some people don't like to do that extra work, but we think it helps protect them from illness and stressors. You have to buy one per calf, but you just wash them and use them the next year, so not a big expense. We actually used mom and dad's this year, and when we take them out, they will put them in theirs. They cost $2 a piece.

We get them here:
http://www.quietwean.com/howitworks.htm

psst, fuck you FTC. I didn't get paid to just write that review, and didn't get any free samples, so go look somewhere else to catch bloggers in your evil little web.