Where did all the pictures go?

I was looking through my google reader today and noticed the pictures from our family blog were not showing up. At first I thought it was a problem with the browser or just Reader not loading correctly. Then I remembered deleting some online albums I came across in Google's Picasa online application yesterday. Then the sick feeling started to come as I wondered if I somehow deleted all my blog pictures...

OK, it went like this. I had a virtual team meeting with my group from school and in preparation I had to install windows messenger. I remember that program from 1998 and how clicky it was with pop tart teenagers. It just doesn't seem very fitting for a professional business type of environement. I would prefer something a little more business centered and a lot less "asl" or "bff" (Translate).

So, out of curiosity I wondered what other kind of free groupware programs were available that could help us collaborate as a team in a virtual setting. I found a couple of things from both Windows live and Google and was comparing them. I was Windows shopping, no pun intended.

Google has a lot of other free online applications and as I was clicking through them I clicked on the photo link and the next page showed a bunch of albums of me and my family. And I thought, where did all these come from? I didn't create these. I didn't like the idea of pictures of me and my family getting blasted all over the internet without my know-how so I deleted them. I even thought, I don't need pictures stored here, I've got pictures on my blog.

There was no notification or disclaimer saying that the pictures listed there in online Picasa world WERE the pictures on my blog. Thanks for the heads up there Google! Well, I am now wiser and without about 400 sentimental, journalistic pictures. Give or take 100. That's all the pictures from my blog going all the way back to May of 2007 when I started it.

Theoretically I have them all backed up somewhere. Now I just need a lot of spare time to go back and re-upload them all. Maybe my next spring break, or after graduation.

Is there a way to create a backup of a blog. You know, just in case I needed to restore a previous version?