one . word. BACKUP!!!!

Oh my gosh.. not a great start to the new year (shame really because the REAL start to the new year was fantastic!).  The new(ish) computers hard drive died, crashed, kaputt! And NOTHING could be retrieved.  Yes, we do have an external hard drive, but we hadn't backed up since last March, so everything since then has gone... photos.... patterns... everything.  Its definitely not the end of the world, people have to deal with far worse in life (and I'm actually the type of person that once something has happened... its done.. so I'm quite calm).  But please let this act as a reminder for you to back up your data. 
So enter friendly Dell computer man (thankfully said computer was still under warranty)... whom I'm sure got the most exuberant welcome he has had in a long time (I made him love his job today).  He painlessly replaced my hard drive, and made me a very happy woman.  Hubby kind of had mixed emotions, as it meant his job once he got home was to reinstall and resetup (is that a word?) as he much as he could. 
So, now that I'm back in the cyber world it is time to pull my finger out and get on with it.  I had a wonderful break (although not too many photos to share.. but lets move on), and am feeling very enthused. Lots of exciting things planned and lots to share, but I'll trickle them out over the next couple of weeks..

Happy stitching,
Michelle xx