I never had back problems till we moved on the boat. So in an attempt to save my back I have been trying to get a new mattress(pad) for awhile now. Originally we looked into getting a new mattress but getting a really good one for a boat isn't so easy. Problem 1: They are shaped funny and each is unique so they have to special ordered. Problem 2: There are only so many companies that do it so you have to be a place with a seller. Now I could measure or trace the current mattress but then if it doesn't fit it's my fault and well I'm not sure I want to be responsible. Problem 3: You have to be in a place long enough to get it made and have it shipped. And last but not least (and probably the most important) they are really expensive compared to the quality you would get for a regular mattress.

So my solution to said problem was to get a memory foam mattress pad. Now I had one of these when I was living in DC and they are great. I had a 2 inch one and it was good but I knew I wanted a little more for the boat because of the newly developed back problems. So I set out on a search for a 4 inch memory foam. At home not a problem. On the boat a big problem. I found some three inch ones in Puerto Rico a little over a year ago and while I would have settled for the three inches I didn't want to settle on the price - way to much. So I held out. I found a 4 inch on overstock for a good price and was going to get one when we were home for the wedding but we had so much stuff to bring back that I knew we wouldn't be able to carry it. So I waited. When we went home in August I ordered it. I was gonna bring it back and then it didn't come in time. In fact it arrived the day we left. And so my precious mattress pad has been sitting at my mom's for the past 8 months.

Once again my back went out at the worst possible time a few weeks ago. We had just gotten back to the boat, we were on the hard, and we needed to get work done. So it became apparent that it was time to get that damn pad. I couldn't get UPS or Fedex to open on my computer so I went with DHL. I printed up the tag sent it to my mom's husband and had him ship it. Let's just say I will never use DHL ever again! NEVER!!!!!! The price was high and they couldn't even get it delivered in a reasonable amount of time or condition. It sat in customs for days even though they had all our yacht info on the box and all my contact info to ask questions. When I called the lady was like "oh yeah I see the info now." And then I gave them a new address since it took so long and we have moved up to Auckland. She totally cut me off and said "okay, okay, I've got it." Yep, you guessed. Delayed for incomplete address.

Finally it arrived this afternoon. Now I remembered that my 2 inch pad grew. But holy crap. This thing is taking over the boat. I unrolled it on deck but since it looks like it is going to rain I pulled it down below. It is now taking up the entire galley. And I can't cut it to fit the bed till at least tomorrow afternoon because it could grow for up to 24 hours!!! But it feels really cushy and nice and I'm going to be really happy to sleep on it.

Anyone know a good way to cut it down to size?