Updates (San Diego fires, ongoing newsletter issues, etc.)

I just wanted to quickly touch base with you about a few things, so please take a moment to read through this (and thank you!).

image source: cbs8.com

One of several major fires burning this week in San Diego County

FIRE UPDATE:

Thank you SO much to every one who took the time to send emails, comment here on the blog and reach out to me via social media about the fires here in San Diego this week. If you haven't caught it on the news, at one point there were 10+ fires burning all at the same time, up and down San Diego County. It looks like things are starting to turn around a little bit and the weather here today is a tiny bit cooler and less windy than it's been all week. It's been 100+ degrees in many parts of San Diego for about four days now, coupled with extreme high winds. On a personal note, I don't have air-conditioning in my home, which has made it a little uncomfortable in terms of blogging, so that's why you haven't seen many blog posts from me this week (or responses to your comments). Taking pictures of foundation on my face is about the last thing I want to do when it's this hot in my home! 

Thankfully, I'm not in an area of San Diego that's in the path of any of these fires, so I haven't had to evacuate, nor have any members of my family. If you are in an area of San Diego that required mandatory evacuation, my heart goes out to you--I know how incredibly stressful that can be, and I'm hoping everyone is safe and sound. The weather is supposed to drop to the high 60s by Monday, so hopefully we'll be getting a much-needed break for both residents and firefighters. By the way, THANK YOU firefighters and first-responders for all that you do. I simply cannot image what it must feel like to be in full gear, in 100+ degree weather, standing in front of a wall of smoke and fire. You are heroes in every sense of the word.

So as it pertains to the blog, when the weather cools down, expect some long-overdue reviews coming your way. Again, I"m sorry I haven't been able to respond to the comments left here on the blog this week, but I do read every comment and I'm so grateful that you have been continuing to comment here, despite my lack of responses.

NEWSLETTER UPDATE:

Since Easter of this year, there have been some ongoing issues with my daily newsletter. If you are a subscriber to my daily newsletter (see the black box on the right-hand sidebar of this blog to subscribe), I'm aware that my emails may have stopped. Some subscribers didn't receive my emails for about a week during Easter, but then they started up again. Some of you STILL haven't been receiving my daily emails, and I want you to know that I'm aware of this issue and I'm still trying my best to figure out a fix for this. Right now I use Feedburner to send out the daily newsletter, and that is a free service. What I'm trying to do is move my daily newsletter to a completely different service which will allow me greater control over my daily newsletter, and also offer more bells and whistles (for instance, I would be able to send out a real-time mass email to subscribers when there's a really hot one-day-only type of deal. Wouldn't that be cool?). 

I'm not quite there yet in terms of making the switch because,  for the volume of subscribers I have, all of the alternate services are pay services (i.e., I have to pay money to have my daily emails sent to you). These types of services charge by the month, and the rates are pretty high for the amount of subscribers I currently have. So I'm doing my best to find a plan that can fit in my (very small) budget, and that's taking some time. I know that several of you are frustrated about not getting my daily emails and I'm very sorry about that (I'm even more frustrated, believe me). I hope to have a new service soon, and if you already subscribe to my newsletter, you won't have to do a thing. I'll be able to transfer your info over to the new service and you won't have to re-subscribe. I'll be sure to do a blog post here when I have the new service locked down, so please stay tuned.

Thanks again for all of your emails and comments, and for taking the time to read this post!