Here's what I forgot to show you earlier this week

Look at that!  It "snowed".  It snowed enought to cover the steps, sidewalk, street and other really cold stuff, but not fully cover the grass.  We must have really warm dirt.  See where there was another car that left early?

I wish we had real snow, real winters.  I loved it so much when we were in Minnesota, the land of 4 distinct seasons.  I loved how things changed so much from month to month.  Come spring, every single month there were totally new things blooming.  There was not a single season I didn't love there. Funny how it is not on my short list of places to retire.  I might have to think on that.

Then when the huge drifts of snow cleared, Mr. Big Ed and I went mattress shopping!  Yea!!  We have needed a new bed for forever it seems.  I got a fabulous coupon deal in the mail from Sears and we spent a lot of time online scoping out what was available and getting Mr. Big Ed over his sticker shock before we ventured out to brave the cold, snow and ice.  And listen, it can be downright painful shopping with Mr. Big Ed.  He shops with both hands tightly over his wallet and his eyeballs glued to the price section of all the signs.  "Mr. Big Ed, which bed is most comfy and the one you think you can sleep on for the next 10 years?"  His answer?  "The cheapest".  Really?  Low prices make you that relaxed, do they?  Me, I need a little more from a bed than just cheapness.

Anyhoo, we headed out to go to Sears and take advantage of the great deal they mailed to me.  But we stopped off at JC Penney first.  We tried out every mattress there.  Now, if you are like me and have not shopped for mattresses in the last 10 years, here's a little head's up. They have store models that have a "Firm" side and a "Plush" side.  This is good because they can show off twice as many beds in half as much space.  It is BAD because there is no possible way for you and another person to both try out the same bed at the same time.  But since Mr. Big Ed thought he wanted a Firm, Hard as a Brick, Really Cheap bed, and I wanted the softest, Princess and the Pea Plushy model, it would have been perfect serendipity if they would just sell us one of those floor models.  Right?

Not a snowball's chance in Texas.

I started taking pics of the beds to document which ones we liked but it turned out to be more informative to take pics of the signs on the beds to remember the names of that model, since they all pretty much look the same.  So we narrowed down the Penney's beds to 4 that we liked.  The Sealy Oak Grove, the Serta Gentle Haven, the Simmons Danvers and the Simmons Marlowe.

Then we drove down to Mattress Firm, which threw me off my game in trying out beds because they had the word FIRM on all the beds and I didn't want to try them out.  And can I just say here that you know you are getting old when you fall in love with the bed with the electric controls to raise and lower the head and the knee sections?  Loved that bed.  Loved that bed.  Mr. Big Ed?  Not so much.  He saw the price and went in to a complete sticker shock and refused to get in it.  Dick.

FINALLY, we made our way to Sears and tried out all their beds and narrowed it down to 4 as well.  Then I pulled out my lovely letter from them entitling me to not only the 50% off, but the store was having another 10% on top of that and my letter gave me an ADDITIONAL 10%, PLUS free delivery and hauling off of Old Lumpy AND a free bed frame.  Turns out only 1 of the 4 we had selected was eligible for all this free stuff.  So we were between 1 bed at Sears and the 4 at Penney's.

Mr. Big Ed came out of his high price-induced coma and told me that the one feature that impressed him above all the others was the ones that had completely separate coils that worked independently from each other rather than as one big connected wire bouncy thing.  That narrowed the list down to 2 of the Penney's beds.  The beds that have this are the Simmons Beautyrest, in case you care.  So back to Mr. J. C. Penney's store we went.

And here is the winner!  The Simmons Beautyrest Danvers in the Plush, cushy, comfy version.  It is due to be delivered on either the 16th or the 18th.  Then Old Lumpy will be carted off by the Penney's people to get a Viking funeral or some such thing.  Normally, I really care about what happens to things, where they go and keeping things out of the landfill that don't necessarily need to be there, but I don't know of anything I can do with this poor, tired old bed.  So if you are in the market for a really old, sad, lumpy, saggy bed you have until either the 16th or the 18th to come get it.

Meanwhile, please feast your eyes on the soon-to-be new bed!  Aaaaah, can't you just feel the relaxation?  I sure can!

And for the last time this month, please do let me know if you want to be in the drawing for some FREE tea!  I will be choosing someone next week.  Maybe I will get organized and do it Monday for Valentine's Day?  Let me hear from you!