Love this Version!

Image via CrunchBaseAbout a year ago, one of my friends mentioned on Facebook that she had started an online Bible reading plan together with a couple other friends.  Being nosy, or always looking for a good site for Bible reading, I asked her what site they were using.  That's how I found YouVersion, and I really love it.  They have many, many, many different Bible versions for reading, and it's so handy when I'm online and want to look up a scripture.  You can even use the Parallel option to compare two versions at once.

There are lots of reading plans to choose from - over 150.  Choose a plan, and YouVersion sets it up for you and gives you the daily readings - and keeps track of your progress.  I just started a Chronological plan to read through the entire Bible in chronological order, and my plan is 1.4% complete!  I hope I won't need to do it too often, but YouVersion also has an option to 'Catch Me Up!' so if you get behind (or read ahead) it will reset the calendar to make you current.  This is good for me because I tend to get discouraged when I get behind a few days and despair of ever catching up - so this way I can just catch up and continue with the plan.  I think it sets people up for success.

YouVersion is also available as a Mobile App for iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows phone, and practically everything else - meaning you can take your Bible reading with you everywhere you go!  I love it.  I've got it on my tablet, and it makes the daily Bible reading so nice, and it keeps track of my progress as I go.  I also love that the app makes it super easy to share verses to Facebook!  and take notes, and highlight meaningful verses.  All the Bible versions that are available on the web are available in the app if you're connected to the Internet or your service provider, and many of them are available for download, meaning you can read the ones you download literally anytime, anyplace, even when you can’t connect to your service provider or to the Internet.  This Sunday and Monday, two versions that aren't usually available for download will be - the NIV and NLT.  They will only be available from 12am Central time on Sunday October 30 through 11:59pm on Monday October 31.  The NLT is one of my favorite versions, so I'm planning to download that one.  Usually I'm using my tablet here or somewhere that I'm connected to WiFi, but you never know, and I like knowing I will always have it available.

Anyway, I'm really enjoying everything YouVersion has to offer, and I'm sure there are even more features that I haven't discovered yet.  And did I mention that it's all FREE!

My Predictions - Dancing with the Stars

They probably won't go home in this order because, let's face it, Chaz Bono should have gone home ages ago - maybe not first because the guy with the strange name (something about world peace) was just as bad if not worse. Watching Chaz try to dance all these weeks, it's hard to believe anyone could by worse, but...

Just for the fun of it, here's my list - DWTS couples in the order they should go home:

Next to go home - Chaz Bono & Lacey Schwimmer

Chaz cannot dance and has absolutely NO potential. Go home already!

and then - Hope Solo & Maksim Chmerkovskiy

I love Hope, but she just doesn't have what it takes to be a dancer,
or if she does, she's kept it inside too long.

David Arquette & Kym Johnson

David tries really hard, but he's just kinda awkward,
and funny will only get you so far on a show like this.

Nancy Grace & Tristan MacManus

Nancy has done a lot better than I expected, but I just don't think she has
what it takes to make it to the end, especially with the remaining competition.

The final three should be:

Rob Kardashian & Cheryl Burke 

Ricki Lake & Derek Hough

and

J.R. Martinez & Karina Smirnoff

My husband loves Cheryl, and she has a special talent for bringing out the best in her partners.  Rob has come a long way, but he's still kind of awkward - what did they say?  On the edge of becoming a man, but still kind of a boy.  It will come down to Ricki and J.R. - and I'm voting for J.R.  Ricki has been doing really well, and she works so hard.  Derek is another one who has a real talent for pulling the best out of his partners, and he's an amazing choreographer, too.  So it's going to be close, but I think J.R. just has that special something that will nab him the Mirror Ball Trophy.  He has a natural grace and elegance, and you can just tell he's having a good time when he's out there dancing.  There's a joy that comes shining through.

Am I right?  If you watch Dancing with the Stars, who do you think will go home next?  Do you think J.R. will win?  Be sure to check back later to see how close I got to how it really happens.

Cutest Little Mouse I've Seen

This mouse is so cute!  One of my friends has one, and he was so excited to show it to me.  It's the ultimate laptop mouse.  He really hates using the touchpad.  I use mine all the time, and the way I sit on the couch with the laptop, I couldn't use a regular mouse because there's nothing next to my computer but air and a drop to the floor.  This mouse would work though because it's so small you can use it right on top of your laptop - right next to the touchpad. 

The USB receiver stores inside the mouse, keeping it all together when you're not using it, and the really cool part?  When the USB is plugged into the computer, the mouse connects to it magnetically and charges the battery!  No more constantly replacing those mouse batteries - this one re-charges in under an hour.

It comes with a convenient travel pouch, and even though I don't need a mouse, I'm tempted to get one - just because it's so little and cute.

Amazon Announces the $79 Kindle

If you've been thinking about getting a Kindle but just haven't done it, it looks like procrastination is a good thing in this case.  Amazon has just announced a whole new family of Kindle readers - new, improved, and cheaper too.  You can now get the Kindle with Special Offers for only $79. ($109 without the special offers)

Also available, the Kindle Touch, Wi-Fi, 6" E Ink Display - includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers for $99. Never having used a Kindle, I didn't realize they didn't already have touch screens - but now they do, and they're cheaper than before.

For about $200, you can get the new Kindle Fire, Full Color 7" Multi-touch Display, Wi-Fi that takes you beyond reading to movies, apps, games, web browsing, email and more - all with a gorgeous full-color touchscreen.

The new Kindles will be available in November, but you can pre-order yours now to reserve your place in line - orders are prioritized on a first come, first serve basis.  Which one will you order?  I added that Kindle Fire to my wishlist, just in case you're thinking of getting me something....

*affiliate links

No Contracts and No Surprises with Straight Talk

This post brought to you by Straight Talk. All opinions are 100% mine.

If you're looking for a cell phone, you might want to check out Straight Talk.  Cell phone providers are famous for requiring customers to sign contracts every time they get new phones or change their plans.  Straight Talk doesn't do that.  There are NO contracts.  There are NO credit checks, NO activation fees, and no surprises.

Straight Talk provides nationwide coverage at an affordable price.  You could even cut your cell phone bill in half by switching.  Amazing, huh?  I don't know how much you're paying for your plan, but it's probably more than $45/month.  I know mine is.  For $45/month with Straight Talk, you can get Unlimited calls, text, picture messaging, and web.  That's what I mean by no surprises - no matter how many times you Call a friend, send a text or picture message, or surf the web, you are only going to pay $45.  Even 411 is included - at no extra cost.  If you (or your husband) has ever called 411 to get a phone number, you know how fast those charges can add up!  I'd rather use that money to go see a movie or something fun.  If you don't need unlimited, they also have some options that are going to save you even more.

Straight Talk only uses trusted phone manufacturers like LG, Motorola, Kyocera, Nokia and Samsung, so you don't have to worry about getting a sub-standard phone just because you're saving money on the plan.  Sure, you can get reconditioned phones for about $10 - great for people who are hard on their phones or as a first phone for your kids - but you can also get smart phones with  Android on Straight Talk with features like voice navigation, camera, video recorder, music player, instant messaging, and Bluetooth®.  And, since there's no contract, if you fall  Hook, line and sinker in love with a new phone, you can go ahead and upgrade without that new 2-year commitment the other providers would require.

Straight Talk customers sound like a satisfied group of people.  They're probably wondering why the rest of us actually have cell phone contracts.

Rolling in the Deep - The Piano Guys

Have you heard of these guys?  I hadn't until a friend posted this on facebook (for another friend who plays the cello) - and WOW!  Seriously.  So. Good.

Watch this video and then go check out their others on YouTube.



Absolutely amazing.  Be sure to watch this one.  Really - don't miss it.

Google Analytics - Don't Forget the Code

I've had Google Analytics installed on my blogs for quite a while now.  It's fun and interesting to see how many visitors I have, where they come from, what keywords they searched to find me, etc.  But, when I changed the design on this blog - way back in April - I forgot to re-install the code.  I had Google Analytics set up to email me if my traffic started dropping, but then I just ignored those emails.  I had posted something about Charlie Sheen which seemed fairly popular, and I just figured it had run its course.  Yeah, it doesn't do any good to have good tools if you don't use them!

I stopped getting the emails, and I forgot about it - until I changed the design on my other blog and started getting those emails about that blog.  For some reason, even though I had copied the code from my old template to the new one, it wasn't working - so I logged into Google Analytics and started looking for the code I needed.  That's when I realized that it hadn't been recording anything for this blog since April!

It took a bit for me to find the code, so I thought I'd share where to find your code on Google Analytics.  First of all, log into your Analytics account.  If you don't have one, you can sign up for free and start adding your own sites.  If you've already got an account and added sites, you'll see them all listed.  Next to the site you want the tracking code for, click edit - you'll find it on the far right side.  (click the image to get a better view)

On the next page- top, right side - you'll see a link that says Check Status.  Click that.  There you will find the code you need to add to your site.  You will need to edit the html of your site (under template in Blogger) and paste the code in right before the </head> tag.  Save the template, and the code should start tracking your visitors and receiving data.  As you can see (if you actually clicked that image above(, now that I've re-installed my Google Analytics tracking code, my traffic has increased 90,800%!  Well, anyway, it went from ZERO (that Google Analytics knew of) to several visitors a day - and once again I can see where they came from, how they got here, and how long they stayed.

Related articles

• Beginners Guide to Google Analytics: Part I (problog.weddingwire.com)