This File Cannot Be Found

I worked hard yesterday.  I finally started preparing to turn my first piece of completed work into an eBook.  I read about how to format the book.  I even started formatting the book.  I spent a good hour putting in headings, prettying up some language, and continuing to do some minor editing.  Then what happened?  Word crashed, and mysteriously my entire document disappeared!  YES--disappeared!!!  Thank God I have it saved in more than one place and on more than one computer plus a thumb drive, but I felt like I could vomit. I felt like yelling, but screaming at inanimate objects really does little to make you feel better: 

Formatting sucks worse than editing, and I wish I had put chapter headings into the novel when I was writing, but I didn't. Now I get to do it all over again: YIPPEE!!! I just wrote and wrote.  I have learned from this mistake, and I've been putting chapter headings in my current work. 

I just pulled up my document again, and I'm going to start formatting...AGAIN!  I looked all over, My Documents, my SkyDrive, every single place I had saved and the work I had done was nowhere, like it had never been done. POOF, vanished.  How does that even happen?  How does a computer consume your work? 

My computer gives me this cute little message when I try to pull it up from the location where I saved it: This file cannot be found.  Are you sure you didn't delete it or move it?  And of course, it's a rhetorical question, because it's not like you can answer your computer.  And if you did answer your computer, it's like it would be looking back at you and shrug, and say, "Well what am I supposed to do about it?"  So instead, you just have to click the gigantic X on the screen and then stare at the blank white screen and wonder where in the universe all your work went, and wishing you could have done something more productive in that hour of your life than formatting a piece of work that was intended to be swallowed into the great abyss of computer hell. 

 

 

Blogging in Safe Mode

I'm blogging in safe mode right now, as I try to download all my photos to Google + in a vain attempt to save them.  Luckily, I've downloaded most of them already (the best ones really) to Facebook.  For those of you who are friends with me on Facebook, you know I'm a photo posting fool. 

It feels SO good to be writing, even if it is only blogging at this point.  Our computer is on the fritz, and we have to restore to factory settings.  Hubby and I are trying to dump the data into anything we can get our hands on so we can save our precious pictures and videos of the kids.  I'm uncertain about the music.  It's on my phone, and I have the cloud.  Does that save it? 

This week has been good, but hectic as I'm trying to get back into the routine of three kids, a husband, work and life after a week of vacation.  Am I the only one who always feels a little bit down after vacation?  There's like a huge let down after coming back, a feeling of, "oh yeah, this is reality, not the life I was living last week." Although, I'm glad that my reality doesn't include six children and living in an one room apartment with two kids and sharing a bed with my Mom and sister.  That's the good thing about being home.  I do miss my family though.  It's always so good to have everyone in the same location (minus my brother this time and some of the kids). 

While I was in Nashville, I received a call from the Red Cross asking me to give blood.  I don't know if you remember, but I intended to give blood back in January, which didn't work out because my iron levels were too low (for their standards). So, I made an appointment and went on Monday, and SUCCESS!  My iron was high enough to give.  This is simply one of the easiest acts of kindness that anyone can do.  It took them SIX minutes to take my blood.  The questionnaire, etc. took longer, but once I was hooked up ONLY SIX minutes.  And that can save three people's lives. 

Then they gave me this nifty tee-shirt, and the friendly nurse even gave me two shirts for my kiddos!

 

 

I was glad to have helped, and it was a good feeling to give something JUST TO GIVE. 

In other news: My week off of running has come to an end.  My shin splint feels completely heeled.  We'll see how it feels after I run at lunch today.  It was hurting when I walked on it, but I haven't felt it at all in the last couple of days.  If it hurts while running today, then I'll take another week break from running and just stick to Taekwondo.  I want to make sure it heals completely so I can do my 5K in April. 

I am also officially a brown belt in Taekwondo!  I'm so excited.  This week we did some jump, spin, side kicks, and it was so much fun.  I feel like my balance and coordination has improved immensely since I started taking Taekwondo TWO years ago!

I hope to be able to blog a weight loss tips tomorrow.  Until then...