Jumbled Sunshine Review: The NEW "Inbox by Gmail"

Have you heard about the new "Inbox by Google" email app? It's a whole new way to interact with your email account, and it may revolutionize the way we use email in our everyday lives. If you're afraid of change, no worries, this app works with Gmail, but it doesn't replace it. You can go back and forth between the two or totally ignore it and stick with what you're doing. But if you're brave and like new innovation, I recommend that you check it out! www.google.com/inbox

As I've been looking for answers to various details about inbox, I ran across some articles criticizing the new interface as being too complicated. It's true that it takes a bit of time to get your mind wrapped around it because it's so un-email-like. But that's exactly what makes it's approach so fascinating and why I decided to try it out. Never fear - I have seen positive reviews, too.

So - I thought it would be fun to chime into the conversation with a positive review of my own. Here goes:

I love it!!!! 
(Wait, I think I need a few more exclamation points and loves...)
I Love, Love, Love It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep. That's my overall impression after using it for less than 24 hours. There are a few glitches in this first version, and some features that are missing (that are available in Gmail) that I'd like to see in the future. But Google is pretty good at improving and innovating when a program starts to take off with the public, so I guess we'll see how it evolves as time goes on.

In the meantime, here are a few resources to help you understand how Inbox works, and "My Take" on what's so awesome about the new system. (I'm not going into too many details because I want to get back to playing with my new Inbox!)

LDS General Conference October 2014

I had an absolutely WONDERFUL weekend listening to the live October 2014 session of LDS General Conference this weekend! During this religious gathering, members of the LDS church come together every 6 months, either in-person or virtually through internet & TV broadcast, to hear counsel of the church leaders. It is a wonderful group of meetings - open to the public - in which to feel the comradeship of sharing faith and testimony with others throughout the world.

Birds-eye view of the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City, which seats over 20,000 people and hosts this world-wide religious conference every 6 months.

Why General Conference?

Everyone needs a refreshing break from the ¨daily grind¨ to renew and rest the soul from the cares of the world. LDS General Conference provides such a break for me. On Conference weekend, there are no meetings in the local church buildings, so my kids (and me) love the fact that we don't have to get dressed up and go to church! In fact, we can watch conference in our PJ's if we want to! And we usually do. :)

Here's my family listening to General Conference as broadcast on BYUTV through Direct TV - Sunday Oct 4th, 2014. Notice the spot with the BYU football pillow? That's the space where I was taking notes on my laptop before I got up to take the picture. :) Starting on the far right, Steven and Melissa are playing with Legos while we listen, Christianna is crocheting slippers, Joshua and Joseph are playing mindless games on their devices to help themselves not fall asleep, and Katilyn's braiding a hemp cord bracelet. This type of church is ¨heaven¨ for a family!! :) Note - Lonny is upstairs in the kitchen (probably killing flies) to keep himself alert while he listens. Jessica is in Salt Lake City watching the session LIVE at the Conference Center!

Live-Tweeting #ldsconf

This year I ¨live-tweeted¨ all through conference using #ldsconf, and there were so many great quotes and pictures that I was able to share and have shared with me through this fun social media outlet! Currently, General Conference weekend is one of the only times I actually use Twitter - but it's so fun that I just might try to make a habit of using Twitter a little more often. To see my Twitter feed and all the great quotes and photos I shared during the 2-day conference, visit: https://twitter.com/jumbledsunshine

Because I Have Been Given Much...

Here's just a very small 2 minute sample of one of the most powerful conference addresses from this weekend by Elder Jeffery R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Grab a hanky! And remember - because we have been given much, we too must give.

I can't begin to tell you how many great and motivating messages we heard this weekend. And so much of it applies to life no matter what religion you are. If you want a real treat, then take some time to listen to, watch, and read the recorded talks as they become available over the next few days here: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2014/10?lang=eng

LDS General Conference Memes

Lastly, there are always hundreds of memes created for all the great quotes that happen during the six 2-hour sessions that comprise General Conference. Here are a few of my favorites from this weekend: