I feel like I’m neglecting my blog even though it’s only been 10 days or so since my last post. So here’s a friendly reminder that I’m still here!

I also want to take the opportunity to suggest to any visitors that they not only take a moment to look through my galleries and old posts, but also leave a comment. I would love to hear from you, even if you just say how you found me or who you are. That’s all I need to feel a little blog love!

So, please don’t be upset that I haven’t posted much lately.

I am working on my site for your enhanced enjoyment (which is one reason I’m so busy). Don’t forget to check back in soon for another post! And make sure to say hello in any way that you like

Thanks for stopping by!

And here it is: I just had a hard drive crash. I have been going through a lot to get back into the swing of things. If you’ve never had a hard drive crash, first thank your lucky stars. Secondly, read on to find out what a nightmare it can be…

This is my second hard drive failure in very recent history. The first one taught me to back up everything immediately. I did lose a few things, including precious, irreplacable photos. I fortunately had almost everything backed up onto DVDs and CDs, but it was still painful to lose even some of my things. After that crash, I invested in a RAID external hard drive. It is 2 drives in one, and everything that I put on one is automatically copied onto the second. In additon to that, I continue to back up everything on DVDs as well. I would say that I am less paranoid than prepared, especially considering my recent crash. Good thing I have that external hard drive, huh?

So, I didn’t lose anything that I couldn’t get back this time around, but this time it was my new computer’s internal drive that crashed. This time it was only a matter of inconvenience for me. Once I figured out what the heck happened to my brand spanking new Mac, I took it in and got a new drive within 2 days (still under warranty, woohoo!!). When you decide to purchase a new computer, you’re usually too excited to care about all of the updates and installations you have to do, but when you unexpectedly have to do all of that (right after having just done it weeks earlier), it can be quite annoying. I’m still in the process of doing everything. I seem to have lost some software since installing it the first time… I know it’s around here somewhere.

Anyway, it’s been a huge pain. I mean I JUST did all of this a couple of months ago! I had everything the way it should be and then bam! I had to do it all over again. I really shouldn’t complain since I didn’t lose anything important. I would just like to emphasize how important it is to BACK UP EVERYTHING! Hopefully you’ll take my word for it, because it’s not a matter of IF, it’s a matter of WHEN. Or so I’ve heard. And for me, I guess it’s a matter of how often?

So, this weekend is dedicated to getting my software installed, and then I can continue with my posts. I’m also in the process of updating the look of my site. So far I have added some social media buttons, including Twitter updates. Have you noticed the little sidebar drawer tab? Pretty cool, huh?  Next I will probably be updating my gallery pages to look very sleek. Just before the crash I was able to upgrade my ProPhoto 2 WordPress theme to the fabulous ProPhoto 3 version that you see before you. This one includes some gallery options that I’ve been searching for for far too long. I’ll let you know when those are up. I can’t wait!

Now if I could just find that software…

I will only have time for one photo session before the end of September. This means, you’ll have to win yours by leaving a COMMENT in response to THIS post, about why you want to do this and I will pick which one I like the best!

Find out about the organization, how you can attend a fun event, and how else you can help at www.gethitchedgivehope.com .

To be a photo giver yourself: www.gethitchedgivehope.com/2010/08/be-a-photo-giver .

I have some adjustments to make that I am aware of, but there are some problems that I can’t see. So, I invite you to comment on how it looks from your end. The more specific you are about the problem, and the browser, screen specifications, etc, the more likely I’ll be able to fix the problem. For example, because the “zoom” setting in my own browser was wrong, my header images looked off, so I easily adjusted for that.

Also, feel free to make any positive, “way to go” type of comments!

Meanwhile, please focus on what is currently the main substance of my site, the galleries!