A Good Night's Rest

The average American spends a third of their lives sleeping...that means 194, 821 hours! For the last year and a half, I have been falling behind on my sleep quota. It has been a very long time since I have had consistent, restful sleep.

When Greg and I got married we purchased a really good mattress and it served us well for about 12 years. The last year on that mattress was a bit iffy but we couldn't afford to replace it quite yet. When we found out we were moving to Ransomville, I told Greg there was no way we were moving that mattress one more time, 7 times was plenty!

Just prior to moving we bought a new mattress at Sam's Club. It was the nicest one they carried, well, at least the most expensive, and it was one we could afford. Yes, we tried it out, it was not a rash decision. We didn't use it until we moved and the first 2 months were quite nice. After that the back and hip pains started. I just thought I was getting old. I was/am. Then it was restless nights, waking up tired after "sleeping" for 8 hours. There were days I needed toothpicks to keep my eyes open! It had a layer of that much-touted memory foam on top but after just 3 months, there were deep pits on both sides of the bed. It was the kind of mattress that shouldn't be flipped but at one point we actually flipped it over and slept on the wrong side. It was a lot like sleeping on the box spring, but with an egg crate foam topper it was actually tolerable. Are you getting the idea for how bad it was??

I have muttered many unkind things to that mattress over the last year. I considered sleeping on the sofa many times. To say I was annoyed and ticked off is an understatement! Often during my sleepless episodes I would craft a mental letter to the Serta company spouting my discontent with their POJ (short for "Piece Of Junk!). What is a girl to do after owning a mattress for almost 2 years? We could not afford to buy another one but it was clearly reaching the point that we couldn't afford not to replace it!!

Last month I went onto the Serta website to get the customer service information so I could actually send one these letters I had mentally crafted. While browsing the site I read over their warranty information. I discovered our mattress had a 10 year warranty and perhaps our POJ qualified for a replacement. My heart skipped a beat! I immediately phoned Serta and the customer service rep asked me a few questions about the mattress... did I have a receipt, where was it purchased? We have to keep all household receipts for pastoral tax purposes so I was able to find the 2007 receipt, yeah!! She advised me to take the mattress back to Sam's Club and exchange it. What?? Obviously, the one bad part about buying a mattress at Sam's is that you have to haul it yourself. I was in a bit of disbelief so I called Sam's Club to verify. There was no way I was going to haul it down there only to be told sorry, Charlie! Sure enough, she told me to bring it in! Not only that, but because I had my original receipt I had the choice of replacing it or getting my money back. Thank you Lord!! It took a few days to find the time and a truck, but we hauled it back and right as rain, she gave me every penny back in cash. Good riddance!

We didn't dare look for a new mattress until we were sure we could get our money back for the POJ. After securing the cash, we headed to JC Penney where they were having a mattress sale. We tried out every model on the floor, at least 3 times! The lesson we learned was that we need a firm mattress, so after about an hour of debating we chose a Sealy Posturpedic firm pillowtop. Even with the sale, it was more money than the POJ but still much less than paying for an entire mattress. We told the salesman we had a truck with us to take it home. Imagine how disappointed we were to hear it would be 2 weeks before we could get it! I suppose it just makes this whole saga even more comical! Except that I am not laughing.

We went home and spent the next 2 weeks camping out in our own home. Greg on a cot and me on an air mattress. Yes, it made for a romantic anniversary! Yesterday, a big white truck pulled up in our drive way and unloaded our brand new mattress. The heavens were singing, I tell you! Well, at least I was. Greg is out of town for Annual Conference so I had the bed all to myself the first night. Ahhh, it was delightful. I am hoping to catch up on some of those lost zzz's really soon.

Now I wish I had called sooner but that is the lesson learned. Don't suffer through life with a POJ!

15 Years!

Fifteen years ago today, Greg and I got married. Where does time go? Some days it feels like yesterday and other days it feels like a life time ago.

When I met Greg he was going to MCC, getting an associates degree and working at Wegmans. Today he has a Masters of Divinity (and is seriously contemplating a Doctorate!! ack) , is ordained and pastoring in his 4th church. We have two wonderful boys who are growing up way too fast! We have experienced the passing of loved ones and found new people to embrace along the way.

Anyone that tells you marriage is easy is a liar. I have been stretched in ways I never thought possible and I am not just talking stretch marks from being pregnant either! But I will hands down say that being married to Greg has been the greatest blessing. He is a wonderful gift of God and I am so thankful to walk through life with him.

I searched through all of our photos and can't find a recent one of us together. We will have to work on that soon. For now, here is a photo of the day the journey began...

Look at us, kids I tell ya!

I changed my settings for leaving comments, so anyone visiting should be able to now leave one!

Cleveland Rocks but Boston Rules!!!!!!!

The last few weeks have been crazy at the Harp house. I will try to catch you up over the course of several posts but they may be a bit out of sequence.
On a very last minute whim, we took the boys out of school for 2 days and drove to Cleveland. Why Cleveland you ask?? Because of the Boston Red Sox, silly!! Going to see the Sox play at Fenway is a dream that we will probably never realize. Three years ago we traveled to Toronto to see them play the Blue Jays. We had been talking for some time about going to see the Red Sox when they were playing the Indians and when I checked the schedule, the only time the Sox were in Cleveland was this past week. Hence the last minute frenzy! We got four tickets about 20 rows up from home plate, and saved 50% because of spring ticket sale prices. We got an incredible hook-up on a hotel room from a friend, so off we went.
We arrived Tuesday night in time for the boys to enjoy a swim in the pool. On Wednesday we drove into Cleveland and spent most of the day there. The city was very nice, clean, easy to get around, minimal traffic, lots of things within walking distance. We had lunch at Fat Fish Blue, a cajun type eatery that a local directed us to. Here is Josh with his burger...and no, he wasn't able to finish it!

We walked through town and the boys stopped to pose like a statue in the park...

Then we came upon this huge rubber stamp, a definite photo op!

Cleveland is the home of the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and on our way there, we passed a couple of large guitars. Definitely another prime photo op...

We are the bitty figures in the photo taken in front of the Hall of Fame. That place is filled with all kinds of memorabilia, it was really cool!

After the Hall of Fame we walked to Progressive Field. The stadium is incredible! I loved everything about this place. Before the game started the guys walked the upper decks to get the full effect.

The game was awesome. The Sox were down 5-0 for awhile but as usual, you can not count them out...ever. They rallied to tie the game in the 8th and finally won it in the 10th inning. You should have heard the fans. There were plenty of Red Sox fans in the stands and the Indians fans had no problem displaying their distaste for us, lol! Late in the game, the beer makes people look like fools, lol! I think Kaleb feared for his life a bit a few times and didn't like the looks he got when we rooted for our team. He did like that the Indians lost though! It was an exciting game for sure. Here are the boys and I when it was done...

They had to do a bit of homework on our trip but they think it was worth missing a couple of days of school.

We do not travel much as a family but this 2 day trip was a fun way to inject some fun and adventure into our lives!

I am hoping to get Greg and Josh to post about their time in Mississippi, but if not, I will at least share some photos with you.