Isis Mobile Wallet #VZWBuzz

The other day while the boys were in school, I locked myself out of the house. Thank goodness, I had my smartphone with me. I was able to get in touch with TechyDad to come and let me back into the house while I shivered outside. Shortly after that, I participated in a webinar as part of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers program. We were invited to test out their roll out of the new and improved ISIS Mobile Wallet. For our time, we would be given some shopping compensation to set up and shop with ISIS. During that webinar, they said something that struck me. My phone is always with me. If I forget or misplace my phone I know almost immediately. This is not the case with a lost credit card or wallet. By the time you realize some of those other items are missing, the damage may already be done. As an identity theft victim, I am very sensitive to these issues.

Setting up Isis and Serve

What is Isis Mobile Wallet?

Isis is a collaborative project between Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile. It is a free app that you can use on a growing number of smartphones with a SE SIM card. Using NFC capabilities, Isis allows you to pay with a tap of your phone at many retailers nationwide. Here is a quick video that shares the basics

Isis will allow you to have different payment options with credit cards or American Express Serve. In addition to this, you will be able to link up loyalty cards from certain retailers as well as special promotions. The list of places participating keeps on growing and I am excited at the concept of having offers and rewards all linked together. I know I am often guilty at forgetting my card and it takes forever for the stores to look them up.

Setting it All Up

The first step in setting up an Isis account is to make sure you have a smartphone that can be used, and to have a SE SIM card. My new Droid Mini came with this right from Verizon. At this time, Isis is only available for Android phones. Once you download the app from Google Play, you will be taken through the process of setting everything up. While waiting for it to complete the process, it reminds you about using Isis.

Setting up ISIS Mobile Wallet

Once my Isis account was set up, I was able to link up my American Express Serve card. It gave me the option and took me to the Serve page where I was able to join the two accounts together. Within a few moments, it showed the balance on my Serve card that I was able to use. Now I just need to explore what local deals are available to get ready for a shopping trip.

Serve card linked to Isis

Additional information about Isis is also available from Verizon Wireless. There you can read up more on the technology associated with NFC and other details about the app and utilizing it. There is also a link to a FAQ page that has all of the phones that can currently accommodate this new shopping style. I know I am going to be reading up before I head out with my Isis and Serve card to get some Chanukah shopping done. I will report back on that soon.

Have you used Isis yet? I would love to hear about your experience.

It's Me

Disclosure: As a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I received a complimentary Serve starter kit with some money loaded onto the card to share my experience using it with the newly revamped ISIS app. There was no other compensation. I am a long time Verizon customer, and all opinions are my own.

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Disney Letter Q

Coming up with Disney Letter Q items left me in quite a quandary. Why you may ask? I knew I wanted Quasimodo from Hunchback and the Queen of Hearts, but thanks to some meetings I was unable to find these photos. So, I thought outside of the box while looking through some magical moments from recent trip to Walt Disney World. What Disney Letter “Q” inspired moments come to your mind?

Yacht and Beach Club at Walt Disney World

Q-Bert in Wreck-it-Ralph

Donald Duck is King Quacker

Maurice's Workshop

Quincy and Annie at Hollywood Studios

Focused on the Magic

Be sure to stop by Focused on the Magic by clicking on the button above to join in the Disney magic this week.

It's Me

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Making Pom-Pom Hats

Growing up, I remember wearing fun winter hats with giant pom-poms on top. I am not sure why I remember that, but I do. For years, I have avoided hats in the winter time. I have never found any that I like, that fit right, or are fun. A short time ago I started to crochet my own hats for everyone in the family. Guess who is hooked (no pun intended) on wearing hats again? I have been making a lot of hats, but I was not in love with my pom-pom. I tried to make it on my own and did not have a lot of yarn left in the skein. The one for my mother’s hat was a little better, but did not make me happy.

First Pom-Poms for hats

Thanks to Instagram, I saw photos of the new Clover Pom-Pom maker and wanted to check it out at the craft store. When I went to pick up some yarn for projects the other day, I stopped by to look at the different pom-pom making options. Since I am a Clover fan, I decided to get the large pom-pom maker to test out. I had some more of the yarn for my first hat to redo that sad looking guy on top.

Clover Pom-Pom Maker

While the directions on the back of the box were easy to follow, I decided to check out Clover’s YouTube video to make sure I was setting everything up for the first time. Here are some photos from my process.

Pom-Pom making process

I still need to help the shape out a bit and cut from yarn to fix it up a bit, but it looks so much better. Check out the sad old pom-pom next to the brand new one. Then, through a small procedure (scissors), the old pom-pom was removed and I sewed the new one in.

New clover pom-pom on hat

And, just like that, I fell in love with the Clover Pom-Pom maker that I bought at my local craft store. Are you a fan pom-pom hat fan, or do you prefer to have a plain hat to keep your noggin warm?

It's Me

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Autism and Perception

Perception seems to be a buzz word when it comes to living in the world of autism. This is a good thing and a bad thing at times. While an older child may look like they are coping in a certain social situation that they have been taught, they may actually be falling apart on the inside. Talk about your sensory overload moments. Here they are nervous, upset, and working their hardest not to do something that they are told by neurotypicals is unacceptable. At the exact same time, they are also trying to do what they need to do in a specific environment, and continuing to deal with other stimuli that we take for granted. Personally, it hurts my head and mostly my heart to think that this is what my son is going through each and every day of his life. He can’t simply be a carefree child, he has to be shown how to do things and just accept them, even if he may never completely understand it. While some may say, but he doesn’t know any different – that does not make it right and means he has less rights to these moments.

Autism and Perception

Just because a child is laughing and seems to be enjoying something, they may just be going along with the group because they do not want to appear awkward or left out of the group. Meanwhile, they have no idea why they are laughing, they are anxious, and all they really want is to have friends and people that understand them. Of course, everyone looking at this picture will think that the child is having a great time because they see a smile and laughter. This delayed reaction to what is really happening allows for a lot of mixed up messages about the child. Later on when they decompress and feelings, emotions, and words come out, they are raw. Tears flow from not only the child, but the parent that so desperately wishes they could make it stop and help others to understand.

As I have said before, being an autism advocate has moments that you just want to erase from your mind and never go back to. Unfortunately, many of them happen over and over and over again. You get a tough skin with time, but having to constantly fight can be draining.

Autism…

  • does not define a person, it is just how they are wired.
  • may mean that a person has a hard time replying to others in a social situation and they can be flustered finding the right words in conversation.
  • means that just looking at a person may not simply tell you the whole story. Their reality versus perception can be very different
  • often requires a person to cope and not be able to express how they truly feel while in that moment.
  • can cause anxiety when things change, or the person is not used to a social situation.
  • does not mean that a person lacks empathy or does not want friends. Most of the time they are even more in touch with emotions and they crave friendship, but too often are afraid to hurt others by saying or doing the wrong thing.

Please know that this post is not me whining about autism, a specific situation that happened, or life. I would never change my loving and amazingly sensitive Aspies, but I would change the ability of others to understand them, be more flexible, and help them not have to worry about what everyone else thinks about them. Knowledge is power and so is educating others about those individuals living on the autism spectrum.

It's Me

Some of my other posts about autism:

NOTE: The image above contains my words over gray-illusion created by 10binary that can be found on OpenClipArt.org.

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My Disney Side Through the Years

Disney’s new campaign is focusing on showing your Disney Side. I have to admit that growing up with Disney, it is a natural part of me and my life. Whether I am in the parks or at home, Disney is always there for me. Even during a really bad day, something sparkly from Walt Disney World can make me smile during a rough autism/parenting moment. While my Disney Side is extra magical while I am visiting a Disney Park, it is always there with me. Here is a walk down memory of my #DisneySide as a child, on my honeymoon, and recent vacations with the next generation of Disneyphiles.

My Disney Side over the years

Focused on the Magic

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It's Me

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