Gone!

OK, this is my first official blog rant! If you hate rants, please move along to the rant-free posts below; otherwise keep reading because if you have ever used a computer ;-) I am sure you will be able to relate.

In case I haven't mentioned it earlier, I have been asked to write a 'How-to' article for the American Sewing Guild's (ASG) 'Notions' magazine. The ASG is a great non-profit organization and some of the biggest names in the sewing industry have been contributers to Notions. It is an opportunity I am both honored by and grateful for.

At first everything is going along smoothly, the first draft of the body of the article is done but I still have to do the step-by-step instructions. My personal editors (Marylynn and Denise) are keeping me from looking like a complete idiot so now the third draft has been emailed to my real editor at the magazine. Great! She likes it! On to the project, photos, tips and step-by-steps.

I spend an entire day back and forth between my office and my studio writing steps, working on the project, taking photos, writing tips, back to the project. You get the idea. I finally finish around 5:00 pm, and before I can send a copy off to my personal editors (to make sure it doesn't totally suck) my dear husband calls to tell me to get ready to go out we have things to do when he gets home. Ummm, OK.

By the time we got home it was late and I was bone tired. I got up bright and early the next morning only to discover that sometime during the night, Microsoft in it's infinite wisdom (HA!) decided to 'Update' my computer and restart it for me!!!! Of course neither the auto save function of that great MS product 'Word', nor the auto save that is supposed to happen when you are shutting down, actually worked! Why hasn't Microsoft updated that?

All of my work is GONE! Yes, I know I should have saved it myself more often. And yes, I have searched my entire hard drive for any remnants, they do not exist :-( That is what I get for trusting auto save and MS!

Another day was spent rewriting it (after spending an inordinate amount of time cussing and searching my HD) I am hoping it is as good as I remember the first being. LOL

I won....Something?

Yes, it's true. Nancy's Notions called again to congratulate me -- I was a winner in the 25th Anniversary Contest! Wow, what an honor.

Now of course you will want to know where I placed and what I won? The truth is I have NO idea! And they aren't telling.

Since I couldn't spring for a last minute ticket to Beaver Dam, WI to go to the Expo and see the display of the winning entries, it looks like I am just going to have to wait and see what my 'Prize' is when it comes in the mail! OK, that is one way to do it, LOL. But it would have been so much less torturous to just TELL me, instead of being reticent with the information and only saying that I had "Placed in the top 5" Arrrggg! The suspense is killing me!

So, Dear blog readers, if any of you happened to be at the Expo on May 1-3 and saw the display, do put me out of my misery and just tell me already ;-)