It's Friday, Where Has Your iPhone Been?

If I hadn't traded in my dumb phone for an iPhone, I'm not sure I'd remember all the things I'd done in the last couple of weeks. And if it wasn't for Facebook and Instagram, I wouldn't know what my friends were doing either. :(

Should I have to describe my life in verbs it would be; "graphic-designing, writing, staging, website-developing, business-researching, kid-hugging, cooking, taste-testing, not-weight-watching, cleaning, driving, shopping, department-meeting, email-checking and social-networking."

Only another mother would get this kind of verbal rant. Anyhoo, here's where I've been and what I've been doing. If I'm lucky, one of my friends will make sushi tonight and invite me over so I can de-stress, hint, hint.

• Easter-themed cake, check out the details on how to make it on  Todays Wisconsin Mama.
• Staging my parents' home so they can sell it, eventually. (Don't go to Arizona Mom, there are scorpions!)
• A Spring Break trip with Husband to Titletown Brewing Company (funny, we did the same thing almost to the day the year before. See this Spring Break post from 2012.
• Reigniting my love for Pinterest.
• Pretty comforter set from Big Lots. (No I did not buy it, yes, I do regret it.)
• A quick stop at Home Depot before a design department meeting. Adore this glass tile.
• Moo. Don't ask. Visiting a former dairy farm with Husband. (Business related, not a date.)
• Visual Merchandising for a client. (Painting windows and showcasing Prom and Spring dresses.)
• Complaining that we still have snow. Our youngest daughter in the backyard while we were picking up sticks (and dog poop.)

What have you been up to?

A Day In The Life Of A Retail Specialist

The days that I'm not working from home, I'm usually out merchandising stores. I just worked at an 8th grade Career Fair last week and tried to explain exactly what a retail specialist does. Everyday seems to involve graphic design, photography and phone calls!

Sometimes, I design plan-o-grams and wall elevations:

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Other times I'm moving things around and re-displaying them to help increase sales:

When I am at home, I might create an e-commerce store, design emails or create brochures for a client:

And if it's a particularly good day, I'm setting up client Facebook and Pinterest pages. :)

After six hours of talking, I wanted to say "Go to college and don't do drugs!" But seriously, in the end, it was a great opportunity to let students know that there are many great careers out there if you're willing to work hard and smart!

There's Music In The House

...Or, "How To Get Your Kids To Practice Piano, Even When They Don't Want To."

Like many other parents, I want my children to be well-rounded. Husband is the "sports" authority, whether it be teaching our kids how to shoot a basketball or how to throw a  baseball, that's his territory.

I, on the other hand, am completely useless in the sports department.

However, since I started teaching piano at a music school, I've had to take lessons and practice more seriously. This includes how I view teaching my two older kids. Our son has since moved onto guitar and my 13-year-old also plays clarinet in band, but I still teach her piano and I still expect her to practice.

I'm not going to get into anything technical here, but rather, if someone is not a self-motivator, how do you motivate them?

You show them this on You Tube:



Here's the thing, aside from the fact that practicing can get long and mundane, you can still find balance in that too. Yes, she has to master her major and minor triads and work on "Andante" by John Christian Bach, but after that, she could be playing something cool too.

(So I watched this video, bought a similar rendition on iTunes and I'm learning it by ear, so I can teach her. Sidenote: technology can be our friend!)

This isn't a gimmick or a trick, but rather honing in on what interests your child/student. Funny, she was on the people twice yesterday...the second time without my prompting.

My students at the music school are going to love it when I play this at our Christmas recital. Rock on.

An Apology To Apple Inc.

No, you're not having deja vu. This is a follow-up post to this post. Apparently the people at Apple are the most patient people. You see, my iPod Nano (after installing an update through iTunes) began to give me problems. It would play a song and after 30 seconds it would stop, or go into sleep mode.

I was not happy.

So after phone call #2, my iPod was sent away to be "serviced," since the nearest Apple store was about 2 hours away. I was hesitant, as I mentioned in that last post, because I didn't want to have to pay anything, due to the following facts; that my iPod was a) a gift, b) less than 3 months old and c) there was no way I could run (meaning on a treadmill) without it.

My iPod came back, in quite a timely manner, with the diagnosis being; "nothing was wrong with it."

That's like when you go to the doctor's office and they say it's "viral," and "there's nothing we can do." Then you say, thanks a lot and shuffle out of there all sick, as you hand over your money.

Well, there was something wrong! It kept stopping! And I went on to tell her how this was my first Apple product that I owned, and it was a gift and how I didn't want to send it away and...blah, blah, blah, I was about to put the ear bud to my phone so the Apple rep could listen, when she said:

"You do have your ear buds plug, plugged all the way in, right?"

Of course, I do (duh!)

"That means no silver part is showing, correct? You need to push that plug all the way in"

Huh? Wait, yeah there is a silver part showing (fumble, push plug in, hear a "click.") oops... (Hence, Exhibit A, pictured above, the evidence was right on my blog.)

Well, I told her I felt really dumb, because guess what? I had never plugged the ear buds plug all the way in, ever. I also started to apologize profusely for my ignorance with my iPod. (Silly Apple newbie...)

She was incredibly kind and proceeded to tell me that if the plug wasn't completely in, my iPod would think that I wasn't using it, so it would go into sleep mode...after 30 seconds. Good to know.

*crickets*

So, people, what have we I learned here? That Apple products still rock (as do their customer service representatives,) and for those of you who didn't know, push the plug all the way in until you hear the "click." Problem solved. Thanks Apple. Back to the treadmill for me.

A Plea To Apple Inc.

Dear Apple,

I have just handed over my iPod Nano to the FedEx driver. I did this reluctantly. Because a) to get me to run on a treadmill takes a great deal of encouragement; the prodding of my husband, the right kind of attitude, the stars and moon in alignment and a kick-butt running soundtrack. And b) because of the email you sent me:

Apple may charge you a diagnostic fee, including shipping charges, of no more than one hundred ($100) dollars US, plus applicable tax, if Apple inspects your product and determines based on the inspection that the product does not require service. If Apple determines, while inspecting your product, that service is needed due to the failure of parts that are neither supplied by Apple nor Apple-branded, Apple may return the product to you without servicing it, and may charge you the diagnostic fee plus applicable sales tax.

Please note that if you decline service because the repair is not covered by Apple or no issue is found with the product, a diagnostic fee of no more than $100 USD may be charged.

You are entitled to a written estimate of the cost of repairs. The estimate must include all costs for parts and labor. Apple will not charge for work done or parts supplied in excess of the estimate unless you, the customer, approve the additional charge. This estimate of repair charges is valid for 30 days from the date of estimate. You must notify Apple if you claim a tax exemption and provide Apple with a tax exemption number at the time you receive this estimate. The cost of shipping is included in the estimate.
Apple Inc., 800-APL-CARE (800-275-2273), 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 95014

This iPod was a gift, I don't have $100 to spend in repairs. Better yet, I didn't send you my iPod, for fun, just to waste your time. My hope is that you will fix it based on my warranty and not charge me. Otherwise, you'll have to keep it. :(