It took about two weeks to figure out what to do for Gabriele’s cell phone. We were trying to keep cost down for what is basically a 9 month need. Unfortunately our Verizon friends-and-family plan is booked.

After several trips to Sam’s phone center, research on the web, calls to Verizon, and exchanges with friends and family, we decided to get Virgin Mobile’s pay-as-you-go. $80 phone. $25 per month. 300 minutes, unlimited texting, email, and data. The phone has a mini-browser built in, so it is inherently limited by what you can do with it.

On our third trip back to Sam’s, we had made our decision, but even then, the phone guy suggested another unexplored option: Metro PCS (which he did not sell.) But Gabriele was ready to buy, and so was I. It took about 45 minutes to get her phone set up. In this photo, she is standing in the middle of some of the biggest marketing and product promotion in America. Now we have to figure out what to do for Nicole…