Design Sleep

A little over a year ago, I wrote about the, ahem, issues that Andy and I were having with our mattress. (And after re-reading that post, I’ve determined that Jenny is right – I am not very nice when I am sleep deprived!) Well, time went on and we tried to make do with the mattress we hated – we had paid an astronomical price for it and that fact in and of itself made us feel like we had to keep sleeping on it, even though I was terribly uncomfortable and Andy’s back was killing him.

A couple months ago, we decided enough was enough – we needed to chalk that mattress up as a loss and replace it. Sounds simple, right? Well, you know me – I have to make everything as complicated as humanly possible. I wanted to make sure that we got the right mattress this time, so I started researching.

Let me tell you, buying a mattress is COMPLICATED. (When you’re me, at least.) I had lists and charts and graphs detailing the benefits of foam and latex and coils, and of which brands were good and which ones aren’t – it was really kind of absurd. (I threw them away, but now I wish I’d kept them so you could see the level of my neuroses.) Eventually I came across The Mattress Underground – a blog and forum dedicated to solving the eternal question – “which mattress is right for me?”

And I thought I took things too seriously. Lord have mercy, this site took it to an entirely new level. And left me more confused than ever.

Except – the mattress expert on that site recommended finding a specialty sleep shop, rather than going to the nearest department store (or to the sketchy looking barn on my way to work where they evidently sell mattresses on the cheap. I am not even making this up.) – and they had a handy search function that found stores in my area.

That is a very long-winded way of saying that one Saturday morning, Andy and I walked into Design Sleep in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and our lives were forever changed.

Photo from Design Sleep
Photo from Design Sleep

Okay, that’s a little dramatic – but getting good sleep is serious business!

As soon as we walked in the store, my anxiety about buying a mattress vanished. I was sure these people knew their stuff, and that they’d help us make the right decision. Our salesperson, Stacy, was fantastic – he spent two hours with us, talking about our sleep habits and trying out mattresses and pillows. The only thing that made the choice difficult is that they were all so comfortable!

We placed an order for a mattress and also a EuroSlat foundation, which replaces a box spring. This video explains it better than I can, but here’s what it looks like:

European_Sleep_System

While we were in the store, they figured out how to configure the slats for both Andy and me, and when they delivered the mattress, they set it up to those exact specifications. Stacy told us to give it a few nights and to call him if we had any discomfort. I was sleeping so soundly from the very first night, but Andy was experiencing some hip and neck pain. He called Stacy, who told him how to adjust the slats, and that was all it took. The back pain he’d been experiencing for months was gone, and we were both finally getting good sleep.

The personal attention at Design Sleep sets it apart. The fact that Stacy focused on us exclusively for two hours and that he’s available to help us adjust the bed as necessary from here on out is really impressive to me. It took something that had seemed so complicated to me, and made it simple and stress free. I love, love, love our new bed, and I would recommend Design Sleep to anyone!

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The Winter Olympics – Get Excited!

We are getting SO close to the Olympics, and I am getting pumped! Jenny and I loooove the Olympics (so much so that we once photoshopped our faces on the bodies of Olympians. What? That’s totally normal!) and we are both eagerly awaiting the upcoming games.

Which, as an aside, Jenny – what were you thinking scheduling your wisdom teeth extraction for today? You should have waited and made sure your couch-time was spent watching the skeleton!

So, while I’m sure ALL of you are totally with us in terms of anticipation, just in case you’re not, here are a few things to get you excited.

First of all.

There. I’m done. If that doesn’t convert you to an Olympiaholic, I don’t know what will.

Except here are some more things.

There’s now a TEAM Figure Skating competition. They’ve taken the most popular Winter Games event and made it even better. Here’s how the US Figure Skating Association describes it:
Each team will consist of one lady, one man, one pairs team and one ice dance team to be selected from athletes who have qualified in their individual disciplines. Each team, however, will be allowed to make up to two exchanges after the short program/dance. Selected athletes named to the U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team will compete in their respective disciplines in the team event. The team event will consist of the 10 best national teams from NOCs/ISU members. The five teams with the highest number of points after the short program/dance will qualify for the free skate/dance. In the team event, athletes will receive points based on their finishes in each segment of competition. So. Freaking. Cool.

If only the team contained these two.

the-bizarre-attack-on-olympic-skater-nancy-kerrigan-remains-a-mystery-20-years-later

Other new events include Women’s Ski Jumping, Biathlon Mixed Relay, and Luge Team Relay.

Also, keep an eye out for:

Tim Burke, who could become the first American ever to medal in the biathlon.
Tim Burke, who could become the first American ever to medal in the biathlon.
Nick Goepper, who grew up skiing at Perfect North Ski Slopes in southern Indiana.
Nick Goepper, who grew up skiing at Perfect North Ski Slopes in southern Indiana.
Lolo Jones, who has finally figured out that running is the devil and has switched form the 100-m hurdles to the women's bobsled team.
Lolo Jones, who has finally figured out that running is the devil and has switched form the 100-m hurdles to the women’s bobsled team.

Here’s a list of 10 female athletes to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram. The hashtag is #Sochi2014, in case you were wondering!

And finally, here’s a link to my #Sochi2014 pin board, complete with tons of brilliant ideas that I will probably never get around to implementing.

What events are you excited to watch from Sochi?

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Something else I forgot to be neurotic about – this blog.

anyone out there

Oh hi! Happy 2014 and stuff. Jenny and I got off our regular schedules over the holidays, and well, we forgot we had a blog. We’re working on getting back into the swing of things, and we really hope both of our readers come back too.

So, what’s been going on? My husband and kids finally went back to school yesterday, after an extended winter break. I was pretty sure Sam was going to forget where his classroom was. I must admit that I was enjoying not packing lunches and only being responsible for getting myself out the door in the mornings, but I suppose those days are over. At least until the summer. Tonight, Kate’s basketball season starts and this weekend is shaping up to be crazy busy – things are shifting into high gear once again.

Perhaps we will do that with this blog as well!

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