i thought it was 1995 all over again

i hope some of you were wondering where i have been this week. i was i could say i was on spring break or even working tons of hours due to everyone else being on spring break. and, i swear i was trying to be lazy or reclusive. no, i was suffering from a slow and i mean turn back the clock back to 1995 when the net was relatively new to me kind of slow. '95 may have been cool cause i was finally going away to college, but surfing the web was more boogie boarding in a child's swimming pool than surfing. the situation was beyond frustrating. my boyfriend tried to download a 13 minute long video(normally something that would upload basically instantaneously with our connection), and it took him almost 2 hours. the slow down began gradually over the weekend and ground to an almost stand still over the last 2 days. i could barely even pull up my own blog to check to see if i had any comments. by the time i could even get a page up, i would give up.
i still have no idea what started this whole debacle. i may not be up to date when it comes to using xml to code my blog layout, however i can usually diagnose computer problems. i spent the better part of today doing anything and everything i could think of including but not by any stretch of the imagination limited to running virus scans with multiple virus scan programs, decreasing my cache, eliminating toolbars, restarting my laptop, and unistalling widgets(ok, so that was just the morning.) i was completely befuddled to the point at which i had given myself a severe headache making the watching of survivor(one of my fave shows, hold your laughter please) a much less than pleasant experience. even a midday break with my dear friend travis for a corn muffin and soda, since of course the icee machine was having maintenance perform right when i needed one stat, did little to aid me in coming up with a solution. i was ready to head to the nearest mcdonald's to try and plug in to their wi-fi as i was convinced this was all a big scam from verizon to get me to pay more and switch to their fios. i mean i'm not a conspiracy theorist by nature, but assuming a big name corporation would try to sucker me for more money is far from conspiracy mongering these days. so, i reported to my darling boyfriend my lack of progress upon his return home from work. then, he did the one thing i in my over vigilance hadn't thought of. he restarted the wireless router. boom. back to good. i always think its idiotic when you contact customer service, and the first thing they have you do is restart everything. and, i feel prey to forgetting the basic solution and got to hear my boyfriend who relies on my to solve our computer problems gloat about how he fixed it. erggh.
eating my fair serving of crow, i'm back baby. so, i expect i will be overloading y'all with posts over the next few days. i found some great deals at goodwill, am thinking of starting my own etsy site, and prepping for easter just to begin with. hope you enjoy.

amazing one day only coupons for new york & co

these coupons for new york & company rock, but they are only good for today, april 10, 2009. one is for $15 off any purchase in store. the other two are good both in store or online for $30 off $75 purchase and $60 off $150 purchase. also, with any in store apparel purchase, you will receive a free silver charm bracelet.

today's free stuff 4/9/09

free sample of huggies pure and natural diapers
free sample of crest pro enamel shield toothpaste
free sample of mizani moistfusion for textured hair
free putter golf grip from golf digest
free flexitol heel balm or foot lotion
free reusable grocery bag from kroger
free nature's source all natural cleaner available 4/14
free coupon book including coupon for free 24 oz bottle of hunt's ketchup
free sample gillette for men body wash or shampoo
free sample of idea paint dry erase suface paint
free precious places the princess saves the ball dvd
free 2 pack sample of mr clean erasers
free abridged copy of the seven habits of highly effective people
free subscription to food arts magazine

springy toes

spring is here, and i needed a break after another slow day at work which is always stressful for a waitress. so, i decided to myself an all out springy pedicure. at first, i just wanted to do my toesies. then, i looked at my poor feet and with it being sandal season soon figured i really needed to go all out especially with my rough heels. look, i'm honest and i have terrible problems with dry skin on my feet especially my heels. and, in the in between ridiculously cold and rough on my skin winter that ended here about the second week of march until now, i've kind of let my feet go. so, here's what i did and how it turned out:

1. removed all the polish from my toenails. oh hush it. it was only 2 toes on each feet to wear peep toe shoes as i previously posted about.
2. i buffed my nails with a buffer. this helps remove any ridges and stimulate circulation in nails, or so i've been told. i just use one from avon that my mom gave me a couple years ago for christmas.
3. gave them a good soak. i got out the little tub i use for foot soaks which really is just a tub leftover from a hospital visit. no fancy whirlpool for me. not that i wouldn't love one, but i just haven't made it a priority. i don't really use fancy schmanzy store bought foot soaks. i like to make my own. i love bubbles as i have mentioned before, so i use a bit of bubble bath solution usually something scented from bath and body works since i am a bit addicted to them. they are not the cheapest, but you can usually snag their products for a decent price like $3-$4 at their semi annual sales. if you want to get the latest info on their sales, sign up for their mailing list which is on the bottom right hand corner of the screen. added bonus is that they also tend to send out some awesome coupons via email like freebies with a purchase. this time i used tropical passionfruit which is a discontinued scent. then, i add homemade additives to benefit my skin depending on my needs. this time i went with oatmeal which is good for dry skin. just a few tablespoons will do the trick. and then, just let your feet soak for 15-20 minutes. i find this is a good time to watch a bit of tv or read.
4. then, i exfoliate with once again a homemade scrub. i made my own with a tablespoon of honey and salt. this works best with epsom salt but kosher salt or sea salt will do in a pinch. not only does the salt help to exfoliate the skin, but i find the deep rubbing to be soothing. and yet again, honey is supposed to be good for dry skin.
5. pumice, pumice, pumice. i use a motorized pumice wand, but there are a ton of products out there. and, i've tried just about all of them.
6. now, i moisturize. i used body butter. at night, i use petroleum jelly. its cheap and wonderful for moisturizing. at night, i will slather on the petroleum jelly and either put on some old cleaned out bread bags then cotton socks or just cotton socks if i'm too hot. they really help keep the moisture in.
7. after a good rinsing and drying, your toenails should be soft and easy to cut and file.
8. then, i started with a clear base coat.
9. followed with 2-3 coats of yellow polish, and let it dry completely. its very important that it be dry so the colors don't mix.
10. i then dipped a toothpick in blue nail polish and made dots on my toenails. originally, i thought this would be springy like decorated easter eggs; but now i think they remind me of cupcakes. i guess i really have food on the brain.

and, now i have springy toes.

how to find your tweet link

a lot of blog giveaways i've noticed seem to be requesting you include the link to your tweet about your giveaway in the comment. i doubt i'm the only one who was clueless how to do this. no one i knew seemed to be able to tell me how to do this either. after much research on the web, i finally figured it out. so, i thought i would share it with my friends.
here's how you do it.

1. tweet as you normally would.
2. once you have tweeted, you will notice under your tweet it states __(a certain amount of time) from the web or text. click on the time portion of this. this should take you to a new page.
3. copy this link, and you have your tweet link for the giveaway.

hope this helps.