Okay, so yesterday, while doing nothing but staring and reminiscing about making some possible changes on my network, RIGHT BEFORE MY EYES, my screen changed.  The colors and special tweaks of my beautifully designed site went "KaPoof", and just like that my hard work of unique creativity dissipated into thin air.

I wasn't working in the Custom Code Box or Advanced CSS, or anything of the like, just simply adding an RSS box to the main page.  I couldn't understand how something like that could happen, but the disheartening fact was that  .... IT DID!

OMGosh, I went straight into panic mode, as you can imagine, and I couldn't type fast enough in the subject line: EMERGENCY JEN.  No sooner, did I receive a reply (thank God she was available - bless her heart), when I read the gentle intro of the email to take a deep breathe and remain calm.  It'll all work out once its figured out.  Taking a deep breathe and remaining calm was the very first thing I needed to accomplish before I could really start seeing clearly enough in order to take the bull by its horns and handle my business.  Similar to life, eh?  Bad news and we often times panic.

Anywayzzz, despite my wobbly beginning, I had some roots and a good foundation to stand on being a member of this aHmazing site.  I had done my homework, taken notes, and paid extra attention to my NingTor (mentor) and those special reminders to the MAKE SURE YOU BACK UP YOUR CSS TO TEXT FILE warnings.  Well, I had and it was only a few days ago that I had only updated it.  Whew!

As I went straight to my text file to pull up my backup codes, when I opened up my CSS/Advanced Box, much to my surprise, I found that the CSS had been completely wiped out.  There was absolutely nothing but an empty space.  Seriously, not a tittle or a tot of an alphabet or special character.  Nothing but a blank white page that stared right back at me. 

I hadn't realized just how much I have truly "matured" being a part of Jen's Social until this point.  I mean, I've gained a lot of knowledge and have been able to implement what I've learned from this network with trial and error being part of the process.  And I have had my challenges trust me.  But one thing I have caught early in life is that the path that I may be walking on others before me have helped to pave it.  So, it's best to take the advice to avoid and circumvent the many pitfalls.

It didn't take very long before I was back up and running things again but it was only because I had my back up files to work with.  I can't even begin to imagine the nightmare I'd have to outlive if I hadn't. 

This discussion is to serve as a friendly reminder to Pa-leeze back up ALL your Custom Code & Advanced CSS to a text file to avoid losing your hard work and the pain of having to start over.  I have emailed, copy to file, and saved on flash drive to stay safe.  One other special thing I've done is to copy any special HTML from Left Column, Middle Column, & Right Column for the just in case scenarios.  You just never know when something odd will happen in NingLand. 

All the best to each of you.

~Narda Goodson