I am the non-techy half of the SweepsU.com team. I work full-time in the IT department at a major university so I do know a few things. But all my years at the IT Help Desk couldn't prepare me for the glitch the SweepsU.com team experienced last week. (Scroll down to see the photos)

The techy half of SweepsU.com is Gerald Anderson, a genius in my opinion. Gerald has written almost all of the programs on SweepsU.com from scratch which is why you will not find them on other sweepstakes websites. We are in our final month and a half of Beta Testing and anxious to add more users to really put Gerald's programs to the test. That's when it happened...the BIG glitch...let's call it Sam.

Several CBS affiliates across the country were scheduled to broadcast an interview with Robert and I. We knew it was coming, thought we were ready, but we didn't count on Sam. You see, Gerald and his wife, Erica, have been expecting a baby and last week everything happened at once.

Erica goes into labor...a few weeks early.

A CBS station airs SweepsU.com information a few days early.

Erica requires surgery to deliver the baby.

300 people sign up to be SweepsU.com Beta Testers.

Samuel Gerald Anderson (Sam) is born

Gwen has a problem & can't get the Beta Testers on - non-techy partner...remember!

Sam is moved to NICU

Other CBS affiliates air the interview.

Gerald splits his time between 3-year old Maddie (at home), Erica & Sam

1,000 more Beta Testers sign up

Gerald tries talking me through the problems

More CBS affiliates air the interview

Erica and Sam are released from the hospital

Over 2,000 beta testers have applied

Hallelujah!

It has been a mad house, but Erica and Sam are finally home and doing well. Gerald is trying his best to work SweepsU.com into a very busy schedule...2am feedings...changing diapers...playing with Maddie! This is definitely the biggest glitch we've experienced since we started Beta Testing at SweepsU.com. But what can I say, Sam just couldn't wait to join the team.

Now for the latest report on SweepsU.com from Gerald. He is almost ready to start sending out email invitations, but we need to do this cautiously. Therefore, when Gerald gives the word I will start sending out invitations in batches of 25. We will wait a few hours, possibly more, and if all goes well send out another batch. This will continue until everyone has received their invitations and logged on to SweepsU.com. The invitations will go out in the same order as the Beta Applications were received. No cutting in line allowed! It will take us several more days, but this is what Beta Testing is all about.

Please be patient and keep an eye out for an email from SweepsU.com. We should be sending one to each of you very soon! Now scroll on down to see some wonderful photos of Sam.

Gwen Beauchamp

Who is that masked man?

Sam in NICU.

Finally at home where he belongs!

One of the first things you'll want to do in the Community section of the SweepsU.com site is to create a profile. Your profile gives the other users a glimpse of who you are and helps us to build our SweepsU.com community.

From the SweepsU.com home page, you'll click on the Community link. Once on the Community page, you'll click on the profile tab. Let's start with uploading a photo or avatar, shall we?

Click on "change profile picture." You'll be able to upload a photo of yourself or an avatar that you've created. (A couple of my favorite sites for creating avatars are http://www.doppelme.com and http://www.planetcreation.co.uk/createpic) Please pay special attention to the size of the photo/avatar that you're uploading. If you're having trouble uploading your photo 9 times out of 10 it's because the file size is over 2MB.

Once you've put a "face" on your profile, you'll need to add your basic information. To do this, you'll click on "edit profile." Here, you can enter as much or as little information about yourself as you choose. Please note that the birthday field is in the European format of DD/MM/YYYY.

There is also a status update on the profile page much like a facebook or twitter status. In order to update your status, look for the pen and paper icon immediately to the left of your profile picture. Click on it and edit your status. Your status will then show in the "recent activities" section of your friends' profiles.

Finally, we come to the most important feature of the profile section: Privacy. You're able to choose with whom to share your profile information. From the profile page, simply click on "privacy" to change your settings. The best part is that you can choose different settings for different parts of your profile. For instance, you can choose to share your basic info with all SweepsU.com users and your uploaded photos only with friends. Or you can share everything with everyone. You can customize these settings to ensure your comfort with the level of privacy your profile has.

I know that I promised you a how-to guide for the Community section of the site and I really will get it to you. I haven't been able to get it out yet because of my new job.

I decided to leave the world of finance after 11+ years. I wanted a HUGE change and a part-time gig, which is how I ended up being a server at Chili's.

I've never before worked in the restaurant industry and let me tell you, it's WAY harder than it looks. Seriously, it's the most fast-paced job I've ever had.

I'm working nights and weekends so that I can be home with our daughter, Maddie, during the day. Therefore, I'm stretched a little thin these days.

However, I'll be out of training this week and on my own as a server by the weekend. Things ought to slow down a bit then and I'll be able to concentrate on putting together your guides.

In the meantime, please let me know if you have any issues that come up.

~Erica