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Taking Payments With Your Smartphone and Square

Posted on April 28, 2015 11:12 pm by TheAngelForever

Have you ever been at an event where you want to buy something, but you have no cash? This often happens to me. On the flip side, I have also been the business owner that did not have an easy way to take credit card payments.

For a while, I used PayPal to invoice people, but that can be time consuming and sometimes it takes a while to process. As I started going to live events with Jamberry products, I needed something quicker and easier to process credit card sales. While at Puzzles Bakery, I was reminded of the Square Reader. At this amazing business, they use iPads with the Square Stand as their cash register and Square for processing credit payments. When we had lunch there, I used my card, signed with my finger on their tablet, and received an email receipt moments later.

I knew that I needed to get a Square card reader to use for my business. I went online and signed up for an account. It was quick and easy. Once I requested the free reader, I went back to the website to personalize my account. From here, I grabbed my Android device to install the Square Register app.

While I did not have my card reader right away, I was still able to set things up. The interactive nature of the Square website and app are impressive. I was able to put items into my store for quick and easy check out. In addition to this, I could set up the look and feel of receipts that customers would receive.Yes, I could even have specific designs noted in my sales for Autism related events. Even without the reader, you can take credit card payments. There is just a slightly larger percentage taken out for this.

Once my Square reader arrived, it was time to test it out with a credit card. It was easy to use thanks to a great tutorial that prompts you with what to do next. (1) Put in the amount of the transaction. (2) Confirm the amount and press charge. (3) Select credit card and enter the card number or swipe it through the reader. (4) Have the customer sign on your smartphone.

After signing, you press continue and it will let you know if the charge has been successful. A short time after this, the customer will a receipt via email.

So far my experience has been great with the Square and I hope to report back again after more use. I love how portable it is so I can take it to vendor event, home parties, or business meetings. The only stumbling block I had was my OtterBox made it a bit more tricky to push the Square reader into my phone

Have you every used a Square reader to make a purchase or take a payment? I would love to know how it helped your shopping experience.

Disclosure: As a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I receive devices like the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Droid Turbo to test out and share ways that I use it in my life. I am a long time Verizon customer, and all opinions are my own.

Categories:
Phone Apps shopping Technology

NYS Parents Have Spoken

Posted on April 24, 2015 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Today is the final day of the NYS Math test in grades 3-8. Last week, my oldest son, along with at least 190,000 other students across New York refused the ELA tests. Final numbers are not in throughout the state and may not officially be in for some time. Thanks to dedicated parents, we are collecting our own data. This data is way more than a test score. Yes, this data from district after district across New York State tells a story.

The story is one of civil disobedience from families that are fed up. We are not refusing the tests because of a union issue with the teachers. Nor are we babying our children because the tests are too hard.

No, we are standing up to protect our children. We are refusing the tests to be heard after years of being ignored by the New York State Department of Education and countless politicians like our dear governor (note the extreme sarcasm). Our children deserve a well rounded education like we had years ago. They should be able to learn, be creative, and not be used as guinea pigs for high-stakes testing companies and politicians that want to privatize public schools.

While the numbers keep going up, we will not back down. We are in this fight for our children. They are more than a test score and thanks to the NYS Allies for Public Education, our demands are clear.

The official press release from NYSAPE may be seen on their website. Did your children refuse their NYS tests the last two weeks? I would love to hear how it went for them and if this was their first time opting out.

Categories:
Educational PSA school

Kids Are More Than a Test Score

Posted on April 12, 2015 8:42 pm by TheAngelForever

Spring break is over and kids are heading back to school. Students, teachers, and parents that are in grades 3-8 in New York State will begin the high-stakes testing on Tuesday. Of course, my sixth grader will be refusing the tests for the third year in a row.

Quite simply, my son is more than a score and he deserves an authentic public school education that is not all test prep. If things do not change within the next year, I will refuse the tests for my younger son in 2016. Watching recent events unfold in New York has been especially difficult for me. This isn’t simply an attack on the education for my children, this is my career. While I may not be in a classroom right now, I am still a teacher. My colleagues and friends are in the trenches right now dealing this first hand. I want to be able to go back and teach one day, and with the current environment it will not be possible.

Here are two songs to lighten up the mood a bit.

If you have any questions about Refusing the tests in NYS, please feel free to email me Beth @ OptOutAlbany.com. I have many resources and will point you in the right directions to get answers if I do not have them. Remember, it is NOT too late to refuse the test. Please help children across NYS by refusing the powers that be the data they need to destroy and privatize public education.

Categories:
Educational PSA school

World Autism Awareness Day

Posted on April 2, 2015 8:22 pm by TheAngelForever

Autism is part of my world. As the mother of a child on the Autism Spectrum, I am an autism advocate. I not only want people to be aware of autism, I strive for complete autism acceptance. Part of the way to do this is to work on educating others about autism so they understand more.

A very smart person once said, “If you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.”

We are very lucky to have an amazing Autism Community in the Capital Region. We have programs like Friday Knights at the College of Saint Rose that is for the entire family. The Autism Society of the Greater Capital Region is also a fantastic local resource. Now we also have Puzzles Bakery & Café which is a wonderful new restaurant that hires adults with developmental disabilities. More coming soon about our lunch at Puzzles.

If you have a loved one that has a new autism diagnosis, please look for local support in your area. It can be a tough time, where you can feel lonely. Connect with others who will have tips and tricks in your area for places to go that are friendly to individuals on the spectrum. We know and share what works for us and what may have been something to avoid because of potential sensory overload. The more information you have, the easier it will be to get things into place to assist your entire family. Previous posts related to autism may be found here.

If you are interested in the Autism Awareness Jamberry wraps, I am a Jamberry Independent Consultant. You can find the style above and a new one released today on the Commitment to Charity Page. You may also request a sample to see what Jamberry is all about.

Categories:
parenting Special Needs

Sharing More with Video Slides on the Go

Posted on March 27, 2015 10:57 am by TheAngelForever

Do you ever have a large number of photos that you really want to share all at once? You know, from a kid’s play, trip to Walt Disney World, or just capturing special moments with your family. Sure, you could toss them all onto Instagram or your Facebook page for everyone to see one at a time. Doing this would take a lot of time, annoy some people, and be kind of boring. Video slides are a fun and different way to share a lot of items in a shorter amount of time.

A lot of my friends use Flipagram and I have tried it. The reason I did not like that app is simple. I don’t want the name of the app watermarked on my slide show. I went searching and found something that I had used in the past that had a lot of new and interesting features. PhotoGrid has grown up and changed a lot since I had used it. You can now make collages (grid), scrapbook style images, edit photos, create video slides, tell stories with the filmstrip option, and more.

While I still want to try more of the new options, I have been enjoying the ease of using the PhotoGrid app for Video Slides. When you select Video Slides, you will automatically be taken to the camera photos on your smartphone. You may select up to 50 items from that folder and others on your device using the drop down in the top left corner. Once you have selected the photos that you want to include, click the Next button in the lower right corner. You will be able to shuffle photos that were selected into the order you prefer. In addition to this, if you tap on an individual image you will be able to edit or delete them. The editing will allow you to crop, use filters, retouch, add background/text/stickers/borders, and draw on the images. This means that you may not need to use multiple apps to finish one project thanks to PhotoGrid.

When finished arranging and editing slide photos, click on the Preview button at the top right. From this area, you will be able to edit the video itself. You can add music, adjust the legth of the video, change the way the slides transition, put a background or border in, and have your signature at the end of your creation. You can spend as much or little time as you want to make it just the way you want. I love that even leaving it the way it comes, the piece looks nice and perfect for sharing on Instagram and other places.

When you are satisfied with the way the video preview looks, you may save the completed Video Slide to your phone and/or share it with the push of a button. Here is an example of one that I made from our visit to Puzzles Bakery & Café and the Autism Society of the Greater Capital Region. As you may have guessed, I am getting ready to spread and share information for autism awareness and acceptance.

Working on two posts at one time. Love that my phone helps me. #VZWBuzz

A video posted by @theangelforever on Mar 27, 2015 at 5:21am PDT

How would you use an app like PhotoGrid in your life? I would love to know what you could use a Photo Slide for right now or in the near future. Please share any creations that you make so I can check them out!