I HATE Hackers

I'm not sure if all of you will be able to see it, but on some browsers, my cute brown background is gone, and now this garbage is showing up:

Click Here To View The Crap

This is so frustrating for me. Not only is there something showing up that I didn't put on my blog, but when I tried to report it to Blogger, their help site takes me around and around in circles, never letting me report it. Argh! On top of all this, my Hotmail email account that I've had since 2003 was hacked a few weeks ago, sending spam to all my dear family and friends. I had to delete all my contacts so they weren't spammed again, which wasn't that big of a deal since I have gmail now. The big deal was that I had to delete all of my old emails-I couldn't stomach the thought of these weirdos in my email, reading things written between me and my family and friends.

And worst of all-all of the sweet emails that the Army Man had sent me over the years, gone. Emails about silly, mundane things, yes, but still, they were our modern form of spousal correspondence. Discussions about what to have for dinner, what movie to watch, or how annoying our jobs were, are all gone. I kept a few from before Laura's birth when he was in Georgia and we were frantically trying to arrange for him to get to California in time for her birth (he made it, but more on that another time). Everything else, (68 pages worth) I deleted. I was, and still am, furious that someone accessed my personal information. It's like someone broke into my house and read all my love letters and old cards. To have it happen twice in such a short time is doubly upsetting.

I suppose I'm lucky that it wasn't my bank account, but honestly, I would have almost preferred that. Inconvenient, yes, but send me some new bank cards, refund the charges, and I'm good to go. Instead, I lost almost 4 years of emails and now have an ugly blog background that doesn't even make any sense. I think I'll go read my new Entertainment Weekly about Harry Potter and try to calm down.

Update: Here's an article with a few details about what happened. Apparently ImageShack, which hosts the images for my blog (whatever that means) was hacked by this Anti-sec movement to try to make their point with their manifesto. I think it's interesting how quickly the internet caught wind of this-people are talking about it like mad on all sorts of websites.

The Delinquent Blogger

Yes, yes, I know you all are dying to know how Disney World was. I'm afraid I must keep you in suspense a bit longer. You see, I caught a bad cold on our last day there, and I haven't been the same since. Luckily the Army Man is off of work until Monday, and is taking care of Laura. I still feel overwhelmed though: I am on load number 8 of laundry and still not done, and I also have pre-K applications to fill out, dresses to make, and a multitude of other things to do.

But enough of my complaining! I'll share a few pictures for now, and hopefully be back tomorrow or the weekend with more pictures, and full details. For now, the recap is: Laura was thrilled with her surprise, we had a lot of fun, and it rained every SINGLE day we were there. Full on storms too, not just a light sprinkle. But we were at the happiest place on earth, so it didn't really matter. Although it didn't help me in my quest for a tan.

Laura talking with Ariel. She was in awe of her.Laura and I on our first day at the Magic KingdomLaura and Daddy in the Robinson Family Treehouse

Laura on Shamu at Sea World. She was in heaven there, as was the Army Man.

The Winner!!

You want to know something really funny? THIS post is actually my 100^th post. Blogger told me I had done 100 of them as of yesterday, but it turns out one of them was a draft that I never actually posted. I guess it really doesn’t matter but I was amused when I figured that out last night. But I’m guessing you all really want to know who the winner of the contest was, not if I’m not smart enough to count to 100. So, without further ado, the winner is:

Christina!!!

Congratulations!!! Email me at soldierprincessandme@gmail.com with your address so I can mail out your package. And Dawn gave me the great idea yesterday to sell my fortune cookies in my store when it opens, so if you ever find yourself in need of some, you can find them there.

Proof of my winner:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

4

Timestamp: 2009-03-06 14:20:06 UTC

The 100th

So here is the momentous 100th post. I feel like I should become all philosophical, talking about why I love blogging, what it means to me, and all the joy it has brought to my life. I won’t embarrass myself by doing all that, but I will say that this blog has turned into something very special to me. I guess I will go so far as to embarrass myself by saying that! I started it as simply a way to keep Laura’s grandparents in the loop on her life, and it became something that allowed me to pipe up with my tiny little voice and let the world (or at least a few people!) know what I’m thinking. I enjoy writing and have never had the opportunity to reach any audience beyond my college professors, so knowing that even 2 or 3 people read what I write is very exhilarating. I keep thinking that writing professionally is what I want to do when I grow up, and I still hope that becomes a reality for me. But at the same time, my reality right now is being a Mommy and a wife. That life keeps me very busy and this blog gives me the chance to feel like a grown up every so often, even if all I’m writing about are Laura’s antics.

To my family and friends who were my very first readers, I thank you for humoring me and telling me that you enjoyed what I had to say. To those how came along later and aren’t related to me, I thank you for not running away screaming. To those who leave me comments, thank for making me not to feel like I’m talking to a wall. I talk to myself enough already so I really don’t need any more of that in my life.

And so, as promised, I’m doing a giveaway to celebrate this somewhat momentous occasion. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment (one per person!) on this post, no later than midnight Pacific Time, and you’re entered. The comment can be as simple as “I’d like to be entered in the drawing” or as lengthy as a 3 page essay on why my blog is so important to you. The comments that fall in the latter category will be remembered when I win the lottery. And I’m leaving this giveaway open to my family members, because that’s who I started this blog for, and I also get to make all the rules. There will be only one winner (sorry!) but if this contest goes smoothly I anticipate doing it again someday, so don’t leave me in disgust if you don’t win.

Just what are you entering to win? A few little things that I have picked up here and there for just such an occasion! Let’s start out with the two adorable pink bowls from Pier 1 Imports, perfect for candy or ice cream, or even as a trash can on your craft table. Next up is a handy gift wrap cutter which makes wrapping presents a bit easier. Don’t forget the cute little flower clothes pins, also from Pier 1. If you’re feeling really crafty, you could glue a magnet to the back and use them on the fridge to hold pictures. And the icing on the cake: a fabric fortune cookie handmade by me! It is completely useless, but so cute. I’d like to say this will all arrive beautifully gift wrapped, but I’m not very good at that, so please keep your expectations to everything arriving in one piece. I will announce the winner tomorrow after I use the handy website http://www.random.org/ to pick the winner!

This Is Me, Teasing You

I don't think I've ever posted a "teaser" before, so this is pretty exciting for me. Don't get all hepped up though, because nothing all that thrilling is about to happen. Yet.

I've been blogging since late October and I am quickly closing in on my 100th post. I figured that something so monumental deserves a special post, so when the time comes I will be doing something that seems to be all the rage: I'll be hosting a giveaway. That's right, you have the chance to win something, and that item might actually be kind of good, if good means I paid money for it and didn't get it free somewhere. So keep checking back for the day I post about the giveaway. That day will be your only chance to enter, and I don't want anyone crying to me that that was the ONE day they didn't read my blog. I simply don't want to hear. Either you are a religious follower who wakes up in the morning thinking about me, or you're not. It's that simple.

My other teaser is about me going into business for myself. I have finally accepted that I am moderately talented in the crafting area of life, and I'm going to start selling my wares soon. That is, if I can get my act together and actually make the said wares. Once all that comes to fruition, I will be sure to post about it. Don't worry readers, I'm not going to ask you to purchase anything from me. My post will simply be "informative". Information to pass along to friends and family, if you will. Information to help you make informed buying decisions when you find yourself in need of a cute baby gift. That's all. I am merely here to educate the public, nothing more.

But if you want one of my business cards, just let me know. I have A LOT.

Summertime and the Living Was Easy

Having a blog is a lot of pressure! I have already proven to myself what I knew to be true: my life is boring. I don’t really mind; I keep busy and have a lot to do, but not a lot of it merits being written about, much less posted for everyone to read. In a way having this blog is nice. I’ve tried to spice up my life a bit so I can have things to write about! But today won’t be one of those days. I’m stuck at home waiting for the oven repair man to arrive and tell me that my oven needs a new heating element since my current heating element is broken. I have a pretty good feeling the part will need to be ordered. Perhaps it will even be on back-order. Who knows? Exciting stuff, I tell you!

So I decided that such a dreary, boring day like today was a good day to find a cute picture from this summer and post it so we can all feel summery and warm, and remember the good ol’ days when my oven wasn’t broken and I could make whatever I wanted for dinner.

Look at that cute little girl! And that green, green grass. And those beautiful zinnias! I feel better already.

My Blog is Beautiful!!

I may be new to blogging, but that didn't stop me from being green with envy over all the beautiful blogs out there. I'm also completely clueless when it comes to HTML (although I did actually figure it out enough to alter my pictures a bit) so I knew there was no hope for me ever sprucing up my blog on my own. Two nights ago I stumbled across this website: http://deliciousdesignstudio.com/ and now you can all see for yourselves the result of that fortunate encounter. I think my new design is fantastic. What do you think?

The Truth Hurts

The Army Man has been very supportive of my new blog and even went so far as to find a strip from his favorite comic for me to post. Don't worry, Rat is not supposed to represent the Army Man. Saving money is not a priority for me either.