Sunday, April 27, 2014

Money, money, money

So, first off, my apologies to all of my poor readers.  I reread my posts from the last year or so, and man, what a downer!  I'm not sure how any of you managed to stick with me.  I used to be funny and interesting, then I got all whiny or something.  ;)  Alright, yes, I more or less had reason, but still.    So, even though I'm still pretty damn cranky sometimes (this is nothing new), I will endeavor to be better at communicating when things are pretty good in my life.  Or, at least, try writing when I'm not so irritable or downtrodden.

Anyhow....

I got paid on Friday, and realized that I am a little bit ahead in my budget, so I decided it was time to spring for a new mattress.  Since I moved out of my house and gave up the queen size bed (it would NOT fit in this place), I have been sleeping on an old full size.  The bed frame I have is fabulous, it was my grandmother's and it's OLD, made of beautiful white metal with brass finials.  Some time ago, no one knows when, the rails that connect the foot and headboard disappeared, so the ex made some new ones.  They've never fit quite right, so the head and foot sort of tilted at a slight angle.  I'm a little bit OCD, so this has always bothered me.

When I moved into this place, my stepdad put my bed together for me, and I decided to try and straighten the frame when POP!  Yep, I broke the bed.  The peg that held the rail to footboard snapped off.  As it was welded on, and I don't really weld, I was sort of stuck for the time being.  So, I just set the end of the rail where it goes and hoped for the best.  Well, ever since then, the bed falls down at fairly regular intervals. The rail slowly slides to one side, since there is no peg to hold it in place, until the mattress is no longer supported, and BAM, down it goes.  That could be really embarrassing if I were the sort to often have people sharing my bed.  Good thing I'm not.  My bedframe is now held together with tie-downs.  I know, it's tacky, but it works.

On top of the collapsing bed frame, you can add the mattress of death.  I'm fairly sure this mattress is about the same age as I am, possibly older.  It belonged to the ex's grandma.  (Hey, look at that, two grandmas, one bed!)  It is one of those super heavy old cotton and springs mattresses.  They weigh a bloody ton and are all bendy and weird.  And, it is OLD.  It has no support, it's weirdly squishy in all the wrong places and it's bad for the back.  But, you know, mattresses are pricey and I didn't really want to spend the money when it did well enough.

Yesterday, I decided it did not do well enough.  So, off The Small Daughter and I went to the mattress store. First we went to the one near our house and tried several beds.  The Small Daughter, in case you wondered, has opinions.  Firm ones.  Which she is vocal about. (I am not sorry about this.  More on her vocal opinions later).  We did not find one that was suited at this place, so we went to visit it's much larger counterpoint in the next town over.  We tried bed after bed, finally had it narrowed down to three.  Well, there were beds there that I WOULD have bought if I could have, but I don't have $1500 to spend on a bed.  YIKES.  The Small Daughter had found one that SHE was set on, but I wasn't buying a bed for her.  She seems to like the memory foam mattresses.  I hate them.  It feels like laying on a brick, but a brick that slowly sucks you in and envelopes you in an attempt to suffocate.  NO THANKS.  Besides, if you try to roll over on a memory foam mattress, you can't.  You are trapped in your own indentation.  It's creepy.

Back to the matter at hand.  After about 2 hours total of trying out beds, I finally settled on one.  A lovely, firm mattress with a pillow top.  And, in case you wondered, apparently grown ups do NOT sleep on full size beds, because they all assumed it was for The Small One and when I said it was for me, I got some really weird looks.  Hey, people, I'm single and live in a small apartment, what am I going to do with a big bed?  So, I bought it, took the hit to my pocketbook with as much aplomb as I could muster and scheduled a delivery for that evening.

Y'all, this mattress is HUGE.  I mean, DEEP.  My bed is now approximately 10 feet off the floor.  I feel like the Princess and the Pea.   Ok, maybe not 10 feet, but still.  I have a high bedframe anyway, which is great for storing crap under.  Add to that a good size box spring and a very deep mattress?  Well, The Small Daughter has to get a running start just to get onto the bed.  It's pretty comfy, though.  I slept quite well last night, though my body is aware that this is an unfamiliar bed.

I realized that my willingness to fork out for a brand new mattress indicates my awareness that I am going to be the only adult in my bed for a very long time.  Given the direction my life seems to be heading, I think I'm ok with that.
Here's a photo.  And a song.  (Thanks, Kath!)
Your New Twin Sized Bed-Death Cab for Cutie


2 comments:

kathbot said...

You are quite welcome!

I still have an old mattress that belonged to some stranger's now-gone grandpa (tip- don't buy used mattresses at night because grandpa apparently was incontinent as I discovered the next morning) but it is covered with a memory foam topper as I actually do love memory foam.

Thanks for the reminder as I actually have been meaning to make a sort of suspender-y contraption to keep the sheets and mattress cover on because the foam topper is king and the bed is not, but luckily it is actually quite firm & under 6 inches of foam and a waterproof cover (if properly secured), I think it will still serve me a while (yes I did also spend several hours steaming the crap out of it because I am OCD).

Honestly the increase in floor space is nice, and if life hands you something unexpected, you can always make different arrangements. :) I for one am kind of enjoying being queen of the house and not sure about relinquishing or at least sharing my dictatorship in the future.

kathbot said...

Also, go you on being ahead in your budget!