So here’s what happened. Our computer had issues and we needed to reinstall the operating system. I use(d) a program called iWeb to do my blogging, and I accessed all the administrative options through their software (offline). Before we started rebuilding our computer from scratch, I checked to make sure that all my blog files were saved off site, and they were. So we proceeded. However, we discovered upon installing the new OS that I could not figure out how to get all those old blog files back into the iWeb software. I called customer service and an “Apple expert” tried to walk me through my issues. He kept telling me to look for a file called “domain” which I couldn’t find anywhere among the blog files I’d backed up. Apparently it is essential in order to connect the blog data to the blog software. I now quote the last three lines of our phone call:
“So, just to clarify… If we did not back up some folder called “Library” that has a file in it named “Domain,” and if we were not running the Time Machine program while we backed up our files… I’m screwed?”
“Yah, pretty much.”
(long pause.)
“Okaaaay. Um, well, thanks for your help.”
I have created a photo montage for you to help you see what my hours at the computer were like today:
So basically, the old blog has vanished into a black hole of adminstratorless web logs and has been stamped “failed to thrive.” The good news is that by the end of the day, I finally figured out that I could go into all those files that I backed up and at least save them all on my hard drive as .html files. So while they are no longer accessible on the internet, I DID figure out a way to recover and store all my post content without cutting and pasting for three weeks.
Unfortunately, however, this whole process of discovery and recovery was long and painful. When Matt got home (thank goodness no class tonight!), I told him to go easy on me because I had suffered mild depression while mourning my loss. When I finally got out of my desk chair and explored the house, this is what I found:
And that is why, despite my normally super-frugal tendencies, I gave Matt a $30 budget and told him to please take the kids to Sonic and get dinner. Things are mostly better now.
The RSS feed for this blog is probably different now, so if you subscribed in the past through Google Reader, RSS, your list of blogs you “follow,” or your sidebar blogroll, then you’ll probably need to add it again from scratch. Sorry. Thanks for coming back, though. Thanks a lot. I feel so sad that this whole thing may cause some blog-reading friends to fall through the cracks. And I just realized that although I found my posts, I did lose all of the comments that were ever made. Sigh.
Alright then, back in the saddle, I guess.
Does anyone out there know enough about WordPress to tell me how I make a little RSS button so that people can subscribe to this feed? Maybe it’s automatic and I’m missing it. Plus I do NOT understand how to add a photo to my sidebar despite reading all the instructions on FAQ. This is all going to take some getting used to for me.
P.S. Oh, next week I plan to transfer this blog to my own domain, which is at http://www.diapersanddivinity.com , but right now I’m leaving it up as is to try to direct old readers this way. What a mess. So sorry.
Diapers and Divinity 
Ow.
Ow ow ow.
I am so, so sorry for the pain and stress of this!
I found you! Yay. I hope this headache is cleared up soon.
Oh, and thank you SO MUCH for getting rid of your word verification page:)
Debbie, you’re welcome! I guess it just defaults that way, but works for me. 🙂
Yay! You’re back up and running. Kinda. At least for now, right?
So sorry about your pain.
I’ve been lighting candles and chanting mantras and even gave up swearing for Lent, all in behalf of your blog! I’ve missed you, and don’t hesitate to update by e-mail if things change again.
Be sure to let me know when all is well in Zion, since I’m not sure how much longer I can go without cussing.
(And messes like the one in your photo montage are what fire hoses were invented for! Just dial it to “Unsupervised Kids” and crank up the juice!)
Thanks DeNae, I’m sure your prayers and fasting and repressed cussing are the only reason my children are alive. 🙂
Love the montage of you at the computer!
Hey, that’s what my house looks like all day – until about 10 minutes before I expect my husband to get home. Hehehehehe…
What a headache. I’m so sorry that you have to spend time and energy to redo your blog. Hope you can get it all squared away soon.
I am so sorry Steph. Selfishly, I felt sick when you announced the death of your blog because I was worried you would just give it all up! It’s a good thing DeNae’s so righteous… I like to think that I was helping the blog cause by NOT praying for it.
I’m with DeNae, though. Email update any time you like.
Your house looks awesome!
Welcome back! Maybe your experience is a symbol of what it will be like to be resurrected. Hopefully just not as painful! For what it is worth, I like the new look.
What a pain in the bum! I will definitely add this one to my Reader.
Glad you’re online again. BTW, that kitchen shot looks like our kitchen. And we go to Sonic, too. Happy hour is the bestest invention ever!
Well, here’s hoping you get to work it all out exactly the way you want it in the end! Oi!
How frustrating! The pics of you are HILARIOUS. That is SO what I would look like while I tried to figure it out.
I love the look of the blog. Hope that helps…
🙂
I feel your pain! I had to take down my old blog, which is different than the innocent bystander catastrophe you had, but losing all the comments was really hurtful. Some of the best laughs and advice I ever got was in my blog. Your photo montage is right on, and don’t feel bad about Sonic, everyone needs a night off of KP duty aaaaand, you boosted the economy. Pat yourself on the back my friend.
Blessings, Carolynn
That’s what my house looked like today… I just wish I could say I sat in my office chair all day. Unfortunately, I followed the mess from one room to the next only to come back and find it torn apart again.
Lilly (my 3 yr old) is watching me type and asked me to type her name. She says “Look Mom!! That’s my name!”
oh good….found you :0) I left a msg. on your old blog….but will check this one now. so sorry about all the annoyances…. also, what’s wrong with your house? hope nothing- ’cause that’s what mine looks like on many a days… :0)
You must have had gnomes in your computer.
Glad you are back!
And if that is disaster at your house, please don’t come to visit me! I may be able to keep my living room clean, but that’s the only room in the house where it is possible!
Best use of $30 considering the circumstances. We’ve had Taco Bell for similar reasons. Tonight we bagged dinner altogether (track practice, carpool driving, children’s choir, double band concert, pizza delivery, and babysitting was our Thursday). Luckily, my kids can fend for themselves without injury or risk of contamination. I ate popcorn. For dinner. Seriously.
Keep on keepin’ on!
Hooray, you’re back! And you WERE in my Google Reader, so it did link to it. But I’m guessing that won’t be the case next week?
Either way, I’m so glad you’re back! Yours is a blog that I look forward to reading!
Okay… I just left a comment that’s not here… Is there some sort of delay… Just wondering… My husband has tried to get me to switch to WordPress, and I just can’t get used to it. I’m a Blogger girl!
Oops, Sorry Laurie. This is all new to me, and when someone posts for the first time, I have to “approve” them. For some reason yours went to Spam, but it’s fixed now.
Looks good, stuh. 🙂
Thanks, bro.
Hey, Alison over at alisonwonderland dot wordpress knows a few things, she could maybe help you out. Personally, I’m a wordpress idiot. I should never have left blogspot. No one told me you had to be smart and cool to use wordpress, so my site remains generic and simple minded.
Kind of like me.
Good to meet you, love the photo montage.
how on earth did this all show up in my reader?? not that i’m complaining, mind you.
I’m sorry for your loss. Just wanted to plug bloggled.com. They back up blogs.
Ha, ha! I’m surprised myself. My genius brother knew how to forward an old feed. Glad you made it. 🙂
Oh, I’m so glad you’re back on my reader. And I’m glad you didn’t lose all your old posts for good. THAT would have been a tragedy. But it sounds like you’re handling all the other issues really well.
And you mean I won’t have to enter my name and URL every single time I comment? Awesome! 🙂
Is every bloggers nightmare. Am so sorry for your pain. if it makes you feel better, my house looks like that and I didn’t have any sort of crisis. And my visiting teachers are coming over in an hour.
Would you mind explaining how you saved your old posts as HTML files? I once tried backing up my posts and got frustrated and gave up.
Well, with the program I was using, every time it published a post, it saved it as an html file in a folder. That’s what I had backed up before the whole switch over. So even when I couldn’t get them to appear online again, I could open them just as an offline file. I’m no expert at this, but I think that you can open any post in your browser and then just click “save as” under your File button on the tool/task bar and save it as an html file. Of course, then you’d have to save each one, one at a time. I don’t know, maybe check into that bloggled.com one of my other commenters mentioned. She claims it backs up your blog. ? Good luck.
well the good news is that my old rss feed that i have as a gadget on my igoogle page will apparently follow you anywhere because lo and behold, it said there was a new post today! and as frustrating as all that computer junk is for you (we just did it ourselves in february), it’s fin for me as i already read every blog you EVER posted, haha, and you have them backed up for yourself as a journal. so no harm, no foul, right? glad you’re blogging again!
That is *exactly* what my house looks like whenever I take breaks from nursing the new baby (although I did just clean up the lentils that the 2-year-old had spread all over the kitchen floor.)
Glad you are back in business, although I’m sorry about the loss of all the comments, etc.
What a mess! And I mean what you had to go through with your blog, not your house. Your house looks like mine most of the time.
So glad you could salvage your posts at least! I’d cry about lost comments though. 😦
I’ve never been able to figure out an RSS feed, I do know that if people are logged into wordpress themselves they can click on blog info at the top of your blog and click subscribe, but I don’t think that works without a wordpress account. But I can help you with photos in the sidebar. Just add a text widget and type in
with the URL of a photo between the ” “.
And that didn’t work, it just coded itself. So…
(a
href=” “)
Put your picture URL between the ” ” (I use photobucket to size down a photo for the sidebar) and type instead of ( )
Oh boy, I may just have to email you when I’m actually trying this. That word “code” you used almost scares my pants off! 🙂
Steph–I’m here! And it even updated itself on my follower list. Consider yourself blessed, at least in that regard?? I’ll follow you to the end of the internet and beyond….
Hey! My computer actually loaded this little blog of yours! My laptop is so sad and slow that I’ve couldn’t ever bring up your other blog – although I tried many times. Since my computer just got fixed, I thought I’d give it a try, and here I am!
Loved your limerick by the way.
AUGH! I was missing in action this weekend, getting caught up today – and WHOOSH! All new Stephanie.
Cannot. Imagine. Your pain.
So glad you’re back – big cyber hug coming your way!