it's a snail's pace homicide!!!!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!! Join me in getting pissed off about our mattresses for a sec, won't you? I am of course assuming that you have sleep issues due to an out-of-shape mattress past its prime. Even if it's your pillow that is causing you strife (because I'm with you on that one as well) let out your 'argh'. It's well-deserved.

I've HAD IT!!

Our mattress is slowly murdering me.

Well, Us. It's slowly murdering Us. Gregg and I have been complaining for years about our stupid, dummy jerk mattress. We haven't bought a new one for a very stupid reason: it's not that old! We bought it in late 2008 (I think). But it's a king. And it was super expensive. And it should last us until we are ninety-seven. Or so I thought in my naive, little mind. Just shortly after we bought it - the "ditches" showed up. I KNOW I should have called and exchanged it. I know!!!!! Ugh. But I didn't. So here we are. And after four years of buying pillow after pillow pretending that was the problem - it has become quite clear that we need to take action.

I miss the old mattresses - ya know the ones you could flip over AND rotate. This one goes counter-clockwise on our box spring about twice a month these days. It doesn't matter. At the end of the day no matter which end is up we are each in a ditch made initially by one of us, made worse by both of us a million times. We recently decided we'll go look for one of those foam toppers. Like the four inch thick ones that look heavenly/cloud-like. However, for the past two weeks I have been in agony. Tossing and turning allllllllllllll night. My hips and back just screaming. I've shifted into every position possible and tried different pillow combinations... and let me tell ya, none of my pillows are saving the day either. So now I'm siding with Gregg - we HAVE to get a new mattress. And I'm not falling for that 'buy the frame and box spring and pillows and mustache wax' deal. I want a GREAT mattress and nothing else. So help me God if we get that slimy salesman with the shiny tooth who thinks he's got one on the line. I'll shove that line right up his ugly suit-wearing bum I will.

Wish us luck, friends! 'Luxurious night's sleep' blog post soon to follow...

What a Wonderful World ...

 "... I hear babies cry... I watch them grow
They'll learn much more... than I'll ever know
And I think to myself... what a wonderful world"

{What A Wonderful World  written by Bob Theile and George David Weiss 

and made famous by Louis Armstrong}

I just love this song - and this verse in particular. It gets me every time. During each listen I see the same image... 

A man with many, many years behind him, gray hair for proof of those years, sitting on a park bench watching children play. Possibly his grandchildren, possibly his great grandchildren, possibly strangers. With a smile on his face, he remembers his own youth. He only remembers the good in his life, forgetting the hard times as they aren't worth storing in his mind. He remembers his mother, his father and their grace. He sees his family gathered around holiday tables and birthday cakes. He recalls the pride he felt when he learned to ride his bicycle, brought home an "A" paper, graduated from high school and looked to his future with ambition and excitement. He thinks of the carefree times that he spent with his friends, running around town - being young. He remembers his own children when they were small. Their eagerness to learn new things, their loving hearts... their wonder. He never loses his smile watching those children play. He sees in them all of the wonderful things that have made up his life. Their bright spirits, kind souls and unblemished innocence fill his heart and bring peace to his mind and tears to his eyes. His life has been a gift, he realizes it now and prays for the children of this world. That they may see beyond the newspaper headlines, the wars, the  horror, the drugs, the greed, the diseases and the hate. That they will make their way with hope for better times and the power to make it so. He knows their potential is limitless. 

What a great song, huh?

lately favorites...

You can thank hockey for this post. Gregg is spending the evening in the living room with his Philly friends and I'm lying on "the bump" of our bed watching the E! special, Oz: The Great and Powerful. I gotta tell ya - the movie looks phenomenal. I also gotta tell ya that the lighting in this room is enough to make me custom-design awnings for my eyelids. Or I could put on a hat, whatever.

Anyway, this post is nothing but a few pictures of some 'lately favorites' of mine. Enjoy...

Not only do I love this adorable face - all smiles before breakfast - BUT please check out the t-shirt. Miss Punky Brewster is back in my life (and Scarlett has been officially introduced). I found this gem on Zulily.com and despite ordering it in a larger size, it's a bit small and I'm afraid we won't get much wear out of it. This picture, however, will last a lifetime.

 

I painted some rocks. I know, it would appear that I have too much time on my hands but that's not at all the case. I like to do creative little projects as often as I can and usually do when my mom takes the baby for the afternoon. This was just an easy way to keep the rocks that Scarlett picked out of our backyard in the cutesy, pastel world that I pretend to live in. 

Um... yeah. These. I found them at Target on clearance. They pretty much combine everything I love into one compact kick. Frigging adorable!

My makeshift coat-rack. Scarlett's coats always end up in a huge pile in our bedroom and I couldn't take it anymore. I challenged myself to find a solution without spending any money. So, here you see the wire hanger, (we all have one or two lying around) I added key rings from an assorted bag I had bought months ago for no reason, hung her coats from it and hooked it up over the door. It really doesn't get any easier than that.

This face.

After many months of searching for the perfect sippy/straw cup I've settled on this one. My mother bought it for three bucks at Target. I now use it for every meal, every snack, every sip. It seems there isn't a perfect cup out there but this one makes Scarlett happy and makes a very minimal mess. I'm learning that cheaper often IS better.

That's all I have for pictures - I do have one more thing to add however- Today I decided to shuffle all the songs on my iPod (which is somewhere around 30,000 songs) and the first five were: Across the Universe, Born to Run, Why Go - remix, What Is And What Should Never Be and 6th Avenue Heartache. Moral of the story: I might let my iPod deejay itself every now and again. Good stuff. 

So long, friends!