Mishap of Epic Proportions

Tuesday was a VERY big day for me. For one thing, it was my very first time visiting this wonderful establishment:

I was so excited to visit TJ's for the first time! I have to say the store was smaller than I had expected it to be, but it was lined with a TON of goodies! There were so many healthy, organic, preservative-free and whole foods available in this place and the prices were way better than I had expected. I only picked up a few items on my first go 'round, now knowing that it'll take me months to try all of the different TJ's products. I can say that I am in LOVE with their organic strawberry preserves, organic corn chips and organic tomatillo & roasted yellow chili salsa. :)

So the other thing that happened that made Tuesday a very big day for me was my Mishap of Epic Proportions. I was standing in the parking lot, trying to get Chase out of his car seat while LO was milling about when I attempted to put my iPhone in my back pocket. It inadvertently got away from me and went flying towards the pavement. I wasn't too concerned because, honestly, I've dropped the thing a zillion times. I just always take a deep breath and say a little prayer before picking it up. I was beyond mortified to see what I saw when I picked it up:

Heavens to Betsy! It was shattered in the corner and had two long cracks running across the screen. I didn't have time to deal with it at the moment; I just shoved it in my pocket and moved on with my TJ's shopping excursion. Once we were inside, I called the at&t store, which happened to be located right across the street. I took another deep breath, said another quick prayer and told the guy what happened.

He told me it would be $199 to replace it.

((insert sobbing here))

I was beside myself! Especially considering it had only been 10 months since my previous iPhone loss (which ended in a pure victory for me!). I couldn't believe it. Hubs wasn't gonna be too happy with me. I called him at work and explained what happened. Surprisingly, he took it very well! Yay!

So Wednesday morning, the kids and I loaded up and headed to the mall to visit our local Apple Store to see if maybe they would feel differently than at&t and perhaps let me get away with something (anything!) less than $199. A very nice young lady approached me and confirmed I had the 10:10 am appointment, and I proceeded to tell her about the mishap. She was sympathetic and most likely saw the tears welling up in my eyes as I told the story. She confirmed I had all my data backed up (which, of course, I did!) and went ahead and replaced my phone. She said they typically charge $199 (a NEW one actually runs over $500, so the $199 is actually a discount, although it certainly doesn't feel like it), but she was going to replace it for free.

((gasp!))

What a blessing!

A friend of mine mentioned the screen cracked on her husband's iPhone and he was given a replacement for free, but I certainly didn't believe I'd have that kind of luck! But boy was I surprised! And thankful! And grateful! And relieved!

So within hours from the Mishap of Epic Proportions, I had gone to my trusty friend, Amazon, and ordered a new case for my iPhone. It was delivered 24 hours later. Here's what's interesting to me. The kids have an iPod Touch. Before I gave it to them, I bought an Otterbox Defender case for it because, really, you can't trust young kids to take care of expensive electronics, and this mack-daddy case was sure to keep it safe from their errant drops, throws and spills.

See? It's a big ol' (filthy) case:

Mommy has learned a new lesson over the past 48 hours. Mommy can't be trusted to take care of expensive electronics, either. So that new case I ordered from Amazon for my iPhone 4?

An Otterbox Defender:

Now my sweet iPhone 4 is tucked away safely and securely within the confines of this massive yet aesthetic case.

Oh, and I should mention... that friend of mine whose husband's iPhone was replaced? Well, she has an iPhone, too. And she told me she dropped it in a parking lot, then watched TWO cars run it over. The case was banged up, but the phone? Pristine! Guess what case she had on it?

An Otterbox Defender!

So here's hoping I can make it more than 10 months before inadvertently ruining yet another iPhone!