OMG.
So I find it a little ironic that my last post on the old school PGEW here on Blogger was teasing you about the “whole pile of awesome” that was set to make its debut four years ago. I can’t believe it’s been that long since I moved “homes” and I must say, it was an adjustment coming back to this platform. But I feel a lot more comfortable using Blogger over WordPress (though I’m still determined to learn), so for now, it’s nice to have one less thing to worry about when it comes to putting my baby back together.
For those of you who don’t follow me on Facebook (and you really should, even if their algorithm doesn’t like to show anyone anything anymore, lol), poorgirleatswell.com is stuck on hiatus. Earlier this month, after prepping my usual #PGEWrecipeoftheday post for Instagram, I noticed something was seriously, seriously awry with my site. Not only were there fatal errors all over the place, but I couldn’t even access the back end of my site. I couldn’t post. I couldn’t get to my files. I was *insert string of expletives that start with F here*.
Turns out the guy who screwed up my Kickstarter project – who is also the guy who had his team do the redesign of PGEW four years ago – was also the reason for this problem. I won’t go on for too long about the problem, as I have plenty of update videos on Facebook, and I’d rather focus more on the solution and what’s to come in the future, but here’s all I know up to this point.
Since he’s the one who moved my site to a different server and turned it into a WordPress situation after having been on Blogger, he always had control of that part of PGEW after the redesign. I asked repeatedly for information about my new server, my files’ location, etc., but for whatever reason, he never wanted to give that to me. There was a lot I wanted to know about my new home on the web (like how to to more than just post things), but again, I was never allowed to know anything. Hindsight being what it is, I now know that the gut feeling I had about relinquishing control of my baby blog to anyone was totally spot on. I should have heeded it, but I’ve learned my lesson.
Anyway, upon discovering the problem I spent about three hours just trying to figure out whose server PGEW was hosted on. Once that mystery was solved and I got in contact with a human there, I learned that there was nothing I could do even to find out if my files had been deleted. Since Joe’s name was on the account, he was the only one they could speak with about the site that is basically my life’s story in food. It was like dealing with HIPPA or something.
I reached out to a mutual friend (since Joe hasn’t talked to me since 2012) and let him know what was going on and that it needed to be addressed ASAP, as well as giving back the control of my site. The message was relayed to Joe, and I was eventually given access to the back end of my site, so I can at the very least have all my posts. But my photos? All the photos I’ve taken for the past 7 years: gone. The basic template to my site that allows it to be viewed by the world: gone. My domain name: still not pointing where it needs to point. There are other files that are supposed to be returned to me at some point, but without being able to contact him directly, and our mutual friend no longer wanting to be in the middle of everything, I don’t know if that will ever happen.
So, I had my freakout. And it was big. And that is totally understandable, considering we’re talking about 7 years worth of work being completely turned upside down. While I’m still unemployed and dealing with my subpar health. Definitely not what I needed right before the holidays (big traffic for us in food blogger land).
But like so many of you fine folks tell me all the time on Facebook and other social media outlets, I always seem to land on my feet. Like a cat (because, duh… Patron Saint of Cats here, lol). That’s partly because I refuse to let anything keep me down. I may get knocked down, and I may stay there for a while, but I never live there. And that’s exactly what I’m doing here.
Since I want to focus on my plans for the blog for the next several weeks, I won’t make this update too long. I do urge you to watch the update videos I’ve posted to Facebook so you can get the other details I’m missing here, and a better idea of what’s been going on. Right now, we’re switching into logistical mode.
As you can see, this isn’t all 7 years of Poor Girl Eats Well. This covers the first 3 years in all their dark blue themed, staggered photo glory, and while the template isn’t the same as I’d left it back in November 2011 (because that is now out of date too), you can see a lot of the “classic” PGEW site and the other things I was involved in.
The other 4 years are stuck in WordPress limbo, and I’m still working on how to get everything consolidated either here or under a new server to get things going properly again. In the meantime, however, I’m still essentially an internet drifter with no real home in which to place all my little recipes and tips. So, that’s where the “classic” PGEW comes in… to rescue me, so to speak.
Here’s the plan for the whole of the PGEW empire the next few weeks:
- Alert you fine folks that poorgirleatswell.blogspot.com is ready to visit and let you have at all the old school recipes on the site.
- Slowly add “old newer content” from the WP site to this site in batches
- Continue social media and Etsy work (if you haven’t checked out the holiday menu yet, head to http://etsy.com/shop/PGEWsKitchen and get your shop on. I’m offering FREE shipping all week on orders over $40 until 11/29/15!)
- Add new content
- Work on finding a new server/home for PGEW
- Somehow find a way to point my proper domain address to whichever permanent home PGEW will live on
There’s obviously a lot more I have to do to make my baby work properly again, but at least this is a start. As much as I love social media, I still need to have a proper landing spot outside of that, especially since sites like Facebook won’t allow everything business pages post to show up in people’s news feeds. I have a lot to say, a lot of recipes to share, and it just doesn’t feel the same without a true internet home. This will be that landing spot for now, and while there may be some awkward phases during this transition, I think this will be fun. Why?
Because I’m in control of my baby now. As it always should be. 🙂
That’s it for tonight, folks. Of course I have a ton of other updates, tips, recipes and whatnot to share, but I have a lot to do behind the scenes, as well as being in survival mode til I can get out of the danger zone with rent again. But I’m not going to worry about that right now. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, Mom and I were somehow able to make it work so we could be together, and despite the yuck the Universe likes to throw at you, I still have hope that things will be better next year.
So, for all of you PGEW fans, whether a longtime fan or eager newbie, please enjoy PGEW Classic for a while. Check out some of the old school recipes that made PGEW somewhat of a household name, study those tips (which will help you afford all the tasty recipes), and hang out for a while. This may not be the snazzy, glossy PGEW – it’s clunky, awkward, but functional. And it’s still PGEW: all heart, 100% me. And that’s how we’re going to have fun and make this place more awesome than ever.
Lastly… thank you for being the best fans in the food blogosphere! No, really. Your unfailing loyalty, support and encouragement have helped me keep pushing and fighting. I truly appreciate that and can’t tell you enough how much it means to me.
Have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving, everyone!
