Around the House,  Health,  Marriage Confessions,  Pregnancy,  Suburbia

Yard Sale


This past weekend, we had a big yard sale.  I’ve been collecting stuff in our garage for the past 5 months and finally the stars aligned (meaning Chris was home, I was feeling good, Bean was gone, and the sun was shining), and we were able to have it this weekend.

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My friend, Sarah, brought some of her stuff over to sell and she came bearing bagels, so we let her stay.

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Let me just tell you that we rocked this yard sale. Rocked it. I priced everything really great (thanks to my friends on Facebook and Twitter who gave me price suggestions late Friday night as I sat alone in my garage trying to figure out what my goods were worth…). We sold just about everything. Except, of course, for the two things we desperately wanted to get rid of.

Exhibit A:

We cannot sell this table and chairs set. Can’t do it. It is destined to sit in my garage. I’ve had this table and chairs since I was in college. We used to play King’s Cup on it. Do you know what King’s Cup is? I’m not telling you if you don’t. This is a family blog. Google it. Anyway, I have tried to sell this darn table and chairs set for four years and no one will buy it! I can’t figure out why, either. it’s in good shape and I price it really low. $25 for the whole shebang! But no one will take it and so this week, it will go to Goodwill, where hopefully someone will give it a nice home.

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Exhibit B:

Chris had this tacky, horrible beer lamp over his pool table in the Man Cave in Connecticut. But since we’ve moved, there is no Man Cave for this lamp to reside. And so I have been campaigning for months that it should be put in our yard sale. It should be given a good home in some other Man Cave where beer drinking, pool playing men can truly appreciate it’s brilliance. And Chris fought and fought against it. So, finally I quit asking. If Chris wanted it to sit out in our garage forever, that was his choice. But on Saturday morning when we were putting out yard sale stuff, Chris surprised me by hauling his beloved beer lamp out. Only, apparently beer lamps aren’t in high demand after all (shocker…) and we didn’t get one bite on the lamp. Not one.

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But other than those two eye sores, we got rid of just about everything. And we made a nice little chunk of change in the process – $500 of change, to be exact. Not too shabby for a mornings worth of work and several months worth of collecting crap in our garage. And it was even kind of worth fighting the thousands of gnats that swarmed around mine and Sarah’s heads for some reason. Maybe it was worth the gnats. Maybe not.

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A few hours after the yard sale, I came inside and finally laid down to rest for a bit. When I woke up from my nap, I couldn’t move. Seriously. I’ve heard people say that before when they have back problems, but I thought, surely, that was an exaggeration. Until it happened to me. And then I realized that it most certainly is NOT an exaggeration. I could not move. Couldn’t roll over, couldn’t sit up, couldn’t stretch out – nothing. I was locked in pain. So much so that Chris came back to help me and the only thing he ended up doing was handing me my cell phone and telling me to call my doctor right then and there because this was not normal. So, I called her from the fetal position I was in and she said that if I couldn’t support my weight on my own when I stood, then I needed to get to the emergency room. I laughed and told her I couldn’t even sit up and when I described what was going on, she said she was almost certain I had a slipped disc.

I took a muscle relaxer my doctor prescribed and Chris and I decided that we would wait to see if that helped before we went to the hospital. I slept most of the afternoon and when I woke up, I could sit up but still couldn’t put any weight on my legs. By that night, I was able to walk in short stints, but had been advised by my favorite doctor – my mom – that I really needed to stay completely off my feet for the rest of the weekend to let the swelling go down. Apparently, if the problem is truly a slipped disc, the pain comes when the disc swells and you just have to wait it out until the swelling goes down. So, I did. I caught up on my email, I did some writing, did some work, made some phone calls, read a book in a comfy chair by the pool, and really took it easy (which was easy to do since we’d shipped Bean off to my parents for the weekend anyways).

Tonight I am feeling a little better, but I’m heading to my doctor this week where we will hopefully have x-rays done to find out what’s really going on with my back. Until then, it’s absolutely zero lifting for me and limited walking. I feel like an old lady, but I’m finding that pregnancy and old age seem to have a lot in common. Perhaps that’s foreshadowing the rapid aging that comes with having babies…

Anyway, I’m trying to stay positive and happy and joyful about this pregnancy, but – let’s face it – I’m over it. I’m ready to meet Baby Gracie and to sniff her and to tickle her feet. I’m ready to have a baby to put in that beautiful, girly nursery. I’m ready to give Bean a little sister. But, more than anything, right now I’m just ready to not be pregnant anymore!

15 Comments

  • Meghan

    A couple of suggestions on easy ways to get rid of stuff (from someone who’s moved a lot):

    1. Freecycle (freecycle.org): Local groups of people who want to give/get stuff for free to keep it out of landfills and find new uses for stuff. I once got rid of a broken TV on Freecycle–someone who new how to fix TV’s picked it up for free, and I saved on the dump disposal fee. Win win for all! I was able to also get rid of really random items like extra child’s fireman’s hats, coin wrappers, and pipe insulation on Freecycle. Awesome site.

    2. Craigslist’s free section: Another easy way to get rid of stuff you just want out of your house. You set the terms and people will come pick up what you’re giving away. I was lamenting to my sister about how expensive it would be for me to recycle our 150+ moving boxes (and all the paper) last summer….she suggested I put it all on Craiglist, and in less than 5 minutes I had a list of 10 people who were ready to come pick everything up that day. Had to take my ad down after 10 minutes because the emails were stacking up. Amazing.

    Just some suggestions from a frequent mover who hates clutter…

  • Catherine

    I saw that Meghan already mentioned Freecycle, but I have to second it. People will pick up ANYTHING you list on Freecycle. In fact, just this weekend I listed an old table with just one matching chair and had ten takers within an hour of it being listed. Each local freecycle has its own “rules,” but generally you can pick whomever you want to get your stuff. And it’s so nice that they come get it rather than you having to haul it to Goodwill. Win!

  • Amy

    Oh no! So sorry to hear about your back, Katie 🙁 I hope that when you go to the doctor they can help you figure things out so that you aren’t in pain any more. Glad to hear you were able to relax a little this weekend though– after a successful garage sale, you deserve it– those things are a lot of work!

  • Lee Ann

    If I’ve ever had a piece of furniture that I wanted to get rid of, I put it on the curb with a “Free to Good Home” sign. Works like a charm; usually disappears in 24 hours. (Or you could go put it in the yard of a nearby fraternity house … they probably need an outdoor place to play King’s Cup.)

  • Mindee@ourfrontdoor

    What I want to know is this: If you can’t support your weight, how exactly are you supposed to GET to the ER? It’s like when they put you on bed rest and then tell you to drink a lot of water. Doctors are sill sometimes. I hope you give birth soon – but not too soon. 🙂

  • Jen @ Caved In

    Yikes! I never understood people who claimed they loved being pregnant, they never felt better. Are you crazy? After puking for 22 weeks, I had 10 ok weeks then the sciatica set in and I could barely walk. I can definitely understand where you are coming from. Hopefully your doctor will give you some good advice that will help and not just pat you on the head and tell you to “hang in there”.

  • sarah

    ah:( hope you are feeling much better by now:) congrats on such an awesome yard sale! i can’t believe no one could of used that table….

  • liz

    new to your blog – so cute! i am so sorry about your immobility. that happened to me too for the first time this past year – it’s crazy to just roll over and not be able to move. stay still and happy icing!

  • Lori @ I Can Grow People

    I’m so sorry that you are in so much discomfort during this pregnancy. Take it easy and hopefully Gracie will be a little more cooperative with your back. AND that table and chairs could be perfect for someone willing to do a little upholstery. Slap some Ikea fabric on those chairs and the whole set would become pretty cute and modern.

  • Rebecca

    Every time I read about your pregnancy I feel like I relive mine…I feel your pain! I think it has something to do with being pregnant with girls…and I know that some people have perfectly wonderful pregnancies with girls, but I didn’t. You’re so close to the finish line! I’m cheering for you =)

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