I've lost everything, almost.

My home computer has been giving me problems for the past month or so to where it reached the point I decided it was time to reload the OS. This is not a problem for me. Reloading the OS is a yearly (practically) event, and I keep all my data on a secondary hard drive, as well as backup my settings, so recovery is never an issue.
Until now...
I followed the directions reloading the OS, select the hard drive to be formatted, load OS, etc., but every time I'd boot up after the reload it would come up with the original load. How is this possible when I'm completely erasing it?!? I was getting frustrated until I looked at my drive in Windows; I had been reformatting my spare data drive. Yep! I deleted all of my data, files, pictures, and most importantly, the backup to everything!!!
Can you now imagine how pissed off with myself I was? The one thing I always remember, I forgot. The spare data drive is the larger hard drive, so (hardware wise) it is set as the primary drive. When running the OS install, it see the primary drive as the drive to load the OS and automatically 'names' it C:\. So whenever I reload the OS, I disconnect the primary drive (inside the PC) and force the secondary drive to become the primary, load the OS, then reconnect the primary again.
Never an issue.
No Important Data Ever Lost! Until now...

Stupid techie move on my part. This all occurred on Friday (hence the no pictures of cross stitch updates), and I have been rebuilding the PC since then. I've resigned myself to starting over from scratch on everything...stash database, finding my links, searching down those free patterns I had downloaded, my stitching to-do list, household books (OMG, if you order a download from Quicken, they keep it in your user profile and you can reload the software with out issue....YEAH!), getting all my passwords reset for those I don't remember, pictures...the list is long, but it was not going to cost me money, just time. This morning I remembered something else, as I was continuing with the OS updates and loading the essential softwares, I just lost two years of an online magazine, The Gift of Stitching. Something I'd go ahead and write off if it wasn't for the fact there are projects in them that I want to do. Projects that are spread out over several issues, and getting back order copies aren't free. So much for it not costing me monetarily.

I wonder if the Physical Therapist is going to notice an increase in muscle tension?

Damn I want to whine...