#335 The Princess and the Pea

The Princess and the Pea is a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about a young woman who sleeps on 20 mattresses and 20 feather beds, yet feels a pea that is placed underneath them all. Her physical sensitivity is an indication of her royal identity, which the prince, who is looking for a real princess to marry, is quite happy about.

Tuesday night I purchased a new mattress. I am currently sleeping on a Stearns & Foster innerspring mattress, which is nice enough, but after six years it is sagging (that actually happened after a year) and is causing me some discomfort. I wake up several times during the night to turn over and in the morning have a sore back and sore hips (yes, I know I’m in my 40s, but that shouldn’t happen). I am tired of the pea! I can only rotate the Stearns & Foster mattress, which seems kind of silly since I take up the entire length of the mattress and my butt hits it in the same place no matter which way I lay on it.

My mattress before that was from Holder, a local manufacturer. I liked this one because I could flip and rotate it, thus helping a bit with the sag. I was also able to get extra length (84” long vs. the standard 80”). I sleep on my side, but it was nice to be able to stretch out to my full length and not have my feet hang off the end of the bed.

So after seven years on the Holder mattress and six years on the Stearns & Foster, I am giving up on innersprings and going for memory foam.

My brother and sister-in-law bought a ComforPedic mattress about three years ago. Paul researches everything very well and I like to copy him, so I looked primarily at that brand and after a couple visits to the Ashley Furniture store in Castleton, I bit the bullet and bought one. It should arrive in mid March. I cannot wait!

Debbie, the salesperson at Ashley, was very helpful and mentioned that very thin women have a harder time finding a comfortable mattress. She recommended that I look for a plush mattress instead of a firm one. I have a history of minor back pain and always associated a firm mattress with more support. Debbie has worked in the mattress industry for over 18 years and I have not, so I took her advice and went with the plush mattress. It has the same support as the firm mattress but has more layers of cushiony foam to ease my bones.

A mattress is a very personal purchase, and an expensive one, so you need to do your homework before purchasing. I agreed with the information Paul found on the ComforPedic brand, but in the end I chose the type of bed that was best for my body type.

Hopefully the pea will be gone. Now if I could only find my prince charming.

#334 The Gong Show

The Gong Show was a television show that aired beginning in the late 70s. It was basically “America’s Got Talent”, but with a gong. There was a panel of celebrity judges each week and if they didn’t like a performer’s “talent” they would hit a gong to make them leave the stage.

This morning I had my own gong show. There is a woman at my gym that I frequently see and she also teaches yoga. This morning she asked me to participate in a “gong thing”. I had no idea what that meant, but she said it would only last five minutes, so why not? After I finished my workout and stretching, I met her and a few others in the yoga room. We lay down on a mat with our arms stretched out like a cross. She told us to breathe deeply and then proceeded to hit a large gong that was the size of a bicycle wheel.

At first it wasn’t bad. Then it got really loud. So loud that I was tempted to put a finger in my ear that was closest to the gong. I didn’t want to offend her, so I refrained. Eventually, the gonging got softer and we were done. Interesting.

After my shower the woman happened to be in the same locker room area and of course, she asked me what I thought. I told the truth: It was ok, but it was a bit loud for me. So then I asked her where one buys a gong. She knows another yoga instructor who knows a gong dealer. Be clear on your pronunciation of that!

She also mentioned teaching a gong class at another facility that lasts 20 minutes. Let’s just say that if I was a celebrity judge during a 20-minute gong show, I would definitely gong the gong.

#333 New Attitude. Period.

I’ve never bought into the idea of blaming a bad attitude on my period. I just never saw the connection. Lately I have. I was playing tennis with my regular group this week and for some reason I was being a brat. I know I can never be perfect in anything, but I felt like I should have been hitting shots I wasn’t and it was making me mad. I started kicking balls to the side of the court, stomping my feet, etc. Nothing directed toward anyone else, just being mad at myself. This went on for maybe 10 minutes (sporadically) until I kicked yet another ball and it almost hit our instructor. Not cool. I apologized and made an effort to turn my attitude around. I did much better for the rest of the night.


On my drive home I thought about the correlation between my period being about to start and my bad attitude. Now, I am usually a very easy-going person and have “acted out” at tennis maybe one other time. This is not the norm for me, so there might be something to this period thing! I can’t think of any other explanation and I’ve noticed mood changes the past several months during these times.

In the future I plan to be more aware of my visits from Aunt Helen (as my college roommate Tammi called that time of the month) and take some pills so maybe I won’t be such a pill.

#332 Money (That's What I Want)?

I just came across this article about ten things better than money.  I wholeheartedly agree.  I've always thought I wanted enough money that I wouldn't have to worry about it.  I've definitely had times where the thought of $$ has kept me up at night (buying my first house, refinancing, buying a car), but for the most part, I've been blessed to not have to stress over it too much. 

Here's to a good night's sleep tonight! 

#331 Can I Have This Dance

I love Anne Murray's song, "Can I Have This Dance."  She has such a smooth voice and it's such a pretty song.  Last Sunday, I think I heard it playing in the Memorial Coliseum concourse in Lexington. 

Right before halftime I went to the ladies room.  I spotted a drinking fountain across the concourse and as I walked toward it, I noticed two older men (late 60s?) standing next to it.  One was around my height.  The taller man walked up to me and asked how tall I was.  He then asked, "Can I have this dance?" and proceeded to put his arms around me.  I was a bit startled so I put my arms around him.  Yes, I embraced a stranger in public.  It didn't last long and he seemed nice; just a little strange. 

Why is it that when an older man (or woman) says or does something it seems ok, but if someone much younger does it, it seems creepy?  I guess that's something I can look forward to in my old age.  Embracing younger men. 

#330 40 Minutes of Dread

Sunday Megan and I drove to Lexington to see some women's college basketball. Auburn played at Kentucky at Memorial Coliseum.  Kentucky has been ranked #4, but Auburn had a good game against #9 Tennessee last week so I thought it would be a decent game.  After reading the program, I should have known better.  On the program is Kentucky's "slogan" for the year, "40 Minutes of Dread." 

Auburn stayed with them for about six minutes.  After that, it was a painful game to watch.  Down by 30 at halftime.  Lost by 44.  Kentucky pressed full court the entire game.  We left with about three minutes on the clock and headed to a local mall.  I heard later that the Auburn coach was unhappy with Kentucky's coach for pressing the entire game and they had words during the postgame handshake.  I also read an article that the Kentucky coach said they play 40 minutes and are not going to let up for anyone.  I understand playing hard for 40 minutes, but there is no reason to press when you're up 40+ points.  Kentucky may be a highly-ranked team in the polls but they are not a highly-regarded team on my list. 

Despite the outcome of the game, I'm glad we went and Megan and I always have fun.  I was proud to be there in person to support the women's team.  War Eagle! 

The most fun part of the game?  Halftime - they had a mascot basketball game!    

#329 Do You Remember?

Occasionally at work I listen to Pandora.  I love music for many reasons, but one of the specific things I love is that it can trigger memories.  “Do You Remember” by Phil Collins came on my station today.  When it came out on his “…But Seriously” album in 1990, I was at the beginning of a relationship that unknowingly would last for the next 18 years (friend, boyfriend, friend, boyfriend, nothing).  I remember watching the video (they still played videos back then) and being amazed at all the similarities between it and my life with/feelings about this person.  Hearing the song, even 20+ years later, takes me right back to all of those bittersweet feelings.  But that’s ok.  I’ve learned that sometimes you have to experience the bitter to appreciate the sweet.  I definitely had both with this person but I wouldn’t change a thing.  Yes, I remember.  And I’m glad that I do.