Yard Sales and Lucille...

Disclaimer: I realize that my posts are a rather long. I am trying to improve this, but I'm just a wordy person.  Bear with me.  This one is worth it.

"Oh. Em. Gee." That is the text message I sent to my friends at 8:38 this morning. That's right, 8:38 AM. What reason could I possibly have for being awake at this ungodly hour on one of the last Saturdays of summer?  The answer is, "Yard Sales and Lucille." Lucille is my dear grandmother, grandma, G-mama, or Crazy Lucy (for those of us who know her best). Don't get me wrong, I love my grandma. She moved to Charleston to watch my siblings and me grow up, and she has done a lot to help over the years. But she is, in short, crazy. Lucy is from Zwolle, Louisiana (population 1,783 as of 2000) and she is 83 years old. Those two facts should give you a pretty good insight into what she's all about, but let me provide a few more details... When she was about 13 years old, Lucille dropped out of school to help raise her brothers and sisters. She had quite a few siblings, but a couple died at young ages, and I don't know that I've ever been given an exact count. I'd be willing to bet that at this point, my grandmother can't remember how many she had either. Later in her teenage years, she got married and followed a Navy sailor to Virginia. Apparently, it didn't last long because she eventually married my grandfather, an Army man, and they adopted my mom. Other than that, I'm not too sure on the details of Lucille's life before the arrival of my mom. However, stories since the day of Mama Dukes's homecoming are rather enjoyable. Here are a few gems for you:

• My grandparents began the adoption process looking for a little boy. But the agent called one day and said there was a brand-new baby girl they could have. Lucy said, "Umm... alright," and Mama Dukes was delivered that day. When Granddaddy got home from work, Grandma asked him how he'd feel about a girl. Luckily, he was also okay with a female child. Lucille then sent her husband into the bedroom, where she had left baby girl peacefully resting in a dresser drawer.
• Baby girl was a bit pallid, which Lucy didn't like, so she laid the naked babe in the window sill to give her a little tan.
• Grandma also prefers to be naked herself. Unfortunately for my now singed retinas, I have walked into her apartment to find her sitting in the recliner completely buck-naked.
• Once, when I was a 14 year old freshman in high school, she picked me up from school. But seeing as I was 5 months from taking the written part of the driving test (that would enable me to start driving with an experienced adult), Lucille decided it was time for me to practice. Never in my life had I been behind the steering wheel of a car, other than sitting in my dad's lap and "driving" around the block. This minor detail didn't matter, it was time to get some experience. So she forced me in the driver's seat and off I drove. I stopped after about 10 minutes, refusing to drive on the busy highway. But when we were near my house, she insisted I finish the drive. When my mom asked what she would have done if I'd been stopped by the police and had no license to produce, Lucille's response was, "I wrote a note to show the police officer explaining that I gave her permission to drive my car." Well, as long as you have a note.
• She once took a fuzzy purple bathrobe, which she picked out of someone's trash pile on the side of the road, to keep her warm at the circus. Enough said.

Now that you have a better idea of who Lucy is, I'll get back to this morning's shenanigans. Grandma has a lot of crap. (Which I understand is not uncommon for old people.) My mom has been after her for years to get rid of the junk she doesn't use, but (again, like the rest of the gray-haired population) she is thinks she will one day need it. Even that spoonful of peas she wrapped in aluminum foil and shoved in the back of the freezer. And heaven-forbid if something of hers was to be discarded, because a nuclear war would certainly ensue, rendering her helpless and hungry without her peas. Thankfully, Grandma recently starting cleaning out her apartment. But she couldn't just accept that a hairdryer from 1992, cassette tapes and a fake cactus plant were all completely useless. No. These are valuable goods that somebody will surely want.

So what does Crazy Lucy do?  She plans a yard sale that my mother and I will help her operate.  At 8 o'clock this morning, we dragged three shopping carts worth of "goods" across the street to set up shop on two card tables and two sheets on the ground.  Not only were we selling crap, but her apartment complex was having a huge yard sale across the street.  Why couldn't Grandma donate her junk to them?  Because it would be insane to let somebody else profit from her treasures.  Therefore, we sat out in the blistering heat for about 2 hours with maybe 20 customers total.  Several of which she ran off with her stubborn overpricing. (Clearly the computer microphone, which she probably doesn't even know it is because her only knowledge of computers is that they exist, was worth 50 cents.  How dare the guy try to bargain her down to a mere quarter!)  Let's just say, it took 2 pints of sweat and 3 hours of my life that I'll never get back.

Mama Dukes and I complained the whole time, but I guess it was nice to help my grandma with something she really wanted to do.  Also, she gave me the money we earned to help with my move in a few weeks.  I would have much preferred to sleep in, but I got $21 and a Designing Women DVD.  And I suppose the satisfaction of knowing that I increased my lead in the "Lucille's favorite grandchild" race. (Although, to be honest, it's never really been much of a competition.)

Yes, that is a fanny pack around G-mama's waste.

PS - If you're in the market for any crap that is positively useless, Lucy still has a trunk full of items she won't part with unless appropriately compensated.

Golden Birthday Extravaganza

I am twenty-three years old.  I know, I know; 23 is not that old.  It's just strange to think about having been alive for 23 years.  I can literally remember things from when I was still in single digits as if they were last month.  Alas, I think I have officially crossed over into adulthood.  Groooooossss.  Can we at least call it "young" adulthood?  Because I certainly do not feel like I am an adult.  Ask my friends, I'm fighting the whole growing-up thing like the Bubonic plague.  Becoming an adult just seems terrifyingly overwhelming; too many responsibilities and not enough fun.  I prefer to think of myself as a "big kid."  Again, ask my friends, that label fits me much better.

My birthday weekend was quite swell!  Friday night I had a delicious Thai dinner at Basil with two of my friends... Let's call them LuAnimal and P3 for now ;)  I had the pad thai, which is amazing! Then we of course had to get dessert, so we went to Kaminsky's, where I indulged in a spectacular chocolate-chip cookie sundae.  Once finished, we rolled ourselves back to the car and went to see Friends with Benefits!  It was a pretty typical romantic comedy, but those are my favorite so I was very pleased!  There were a lot of really funny scenes and hilarious pop-culture references.  I think Mila Kunis is one of the coolest chicks out there, and Justin Timberlake still has me hooked from his NSYNC days.  My favorite quote might be from the beginning when Emma Stone's character tells JT, "It's not you, it's me. I just don't like you anymore." Love it.  After the movie we went over to P3's apartment to hang until the clock struck 12am, at which time we had an impromptu dance party to celebrate the official beginning of my birthday. And yes, we danced to 50 Cent's "In Da Club" because we wanted to party like it was my birthday.

Saturday morning I got up and went downtown with my mom to try to catch a flash mob.  Unfortunately, it was a no show :(  Sad.  Next, we went to the Farmer's Market to check out the local goodies. The food looked really tasty and there were a lot of really talented artists with jewelry, photography and lots more.  I could have easily spent a lot of money!  We then walked down to Urban Outfitters to look around for a bit.  Our last errand was to go to a few furniture stores in Mt. Pleasant.  I need to find bedroom furniture, because I'm moving in a couple weeks, but everything I like is too expensive.  Shocker.  After a lovely nap (maybe I am getting old...) I went to dinner with my parents and brothers at Red's on Shem Creek.  (My sister was in Miami to see the Britney Spears concert. Yeah, would've been nice of her to take me for my birthday, huh?)  I had a yummy crab cake sandwich and key lime pie. The plan for after dinner was to meet P3 and LuAnimal and go out downtown, but when I got to P3's place, they were more in the mood for movies and hanging out.  So we had a little champagne (I had like 4 sips... I'm a terrible drinker), opened presents and watched Just Go With It.  I started falling asleep during our second movie (How to Train Your Dragon, which I'll have to rewatch), so I finally went home around 3am.

Sunday was fabulous, as well!  My BFF (we'll call her, "C-Love") came into town and we headed out with P3 and LuAnimal for a day of kayaking.  I have my own kayak (last year's birthday present), but my friends don't so we had to go somewhere they could get rentals.  We wanted to try a new place on Wadmalaw, but nobody seemed to be working there and it was a bit sketchy.  So we drove out to John's Island, but those places either needed reservations or only did tours.  We finally made our way to Folly Beach, where there are a few places that do walk-up rentals.  We stopped for lunch at The Drop In Deli, and then four hours after leaving home we were finally on the water!  Because it just wouldn't be any fun without some ridiculousness (and taking 4 hours to get started just wasn't enough), I'll share a few funnies from our paddling session.  First, I discovered that my paddle was broken.  It's in two pieces for storage, but the button that secures the pieces together has gone missing.  Luckily I was able to use an extra paddle from the rental place.  So we're paddling and paddling, having a blast, when we eventually pull up to some pluff mud.  Being the big kid that I am, I decided I needed some war paint.  Cut to 15 minutes later, when we are all covered in mud.  I jumped in the water to clean off my body art and then spent about 5 or 10 minutes trying to get back on my kayak, all the while entertaining my friends with my lack of grace.  The best part might have been seeing a family of dolphins on our way back to the put-in.  There were even a few babies!  We had another delicious meal at Athen's (we obviously don't miss any meals) and then went to P3's to watch I Love You, Man.  Again, I fell asleep during the movie and had to drag myself home around 3am.

Clearly, I had a spectacular birthday weekend!  And I got some really great gifts, too: a new bicycle and cute peace sign Tervis cup from my parents; some really cool disco-ball rhinestone-y stud earrings from my brother; a super cute peacock mug, Piggly Wiggly shirt, iTunes gift card and Target gift card from P3; some sexy sweatbands and a private lesson with a tennis pro from LuAnimal; and C-Love got me a bathtub book tray, earrings, a gift card to Bed, Bath and Beyond, M&M's and a book I can't wait to start called, Man Down: Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt That Women Are Better Cops, Drivers, Gamblers, Spies, World Leaders, Beer Tasters, Hedge Fund Managers, and Just About Everything Else by Dan Abrams.

Thank you to everyone who made my birthday wonderful!  I am so excited about my golden year!!

A few photos from the weekend...

Here are some of my lovely gifts :)

Finally kayaking!

C-Love's war paint

LuAnimal and P3

My pluff mud body scrub

Keep Calm and Carry On!

Katie Mc

Cajones

Hello Blogger World!

I am so excited to be writing my very first blog. It is something I have thought about for a couple years now and I finally got the cajones to do it. I was worried nobody would really care what I have to say, as I am not a celebrity or politician, I do not work for a world-bettering charity, I am not married with rambunctious kids, and my daily life is not typically very exciting. However, I do frequently find myself with crazy stories, ridiculous thoughts and stubborn opinions on a variety of topics (inadvertently starting a fight outside of a gay club; casually drifting off to sea; falling asleep while driving; students threatening to "stick" me; breast-feeding baby dolls; obsessive sweepstakes entries). My friends and family seem to enjoy my anecdotes, so I figured maybe a few people in the blogosphere would as well.

Also, I am on the cusp of my 23rd birthday and I've got an inkling this will be a good year to document and share. :)

Many years ago, somebody told me that your Golden Birthday is when you turn the age of the day of your birthday. For me it will be this Saturday, when I turn 23 years old on the 23rd of July. (My awesome friend Stacey told me it is also called your Champagne Birthday, so I may have to get a little bubbly for the celebration...) I have been awaiting this momentous birthday for many years and I can't believe it is finally here. I freaking love my birthday. I start counting down months in advance and I tell pretty much anyone I encounter that my day is coming! It is so strange to think that I am going to be 23 years old. I know I am still pretty young, but 23 years is kind of a long time. A lot has happened in my 23 years of living and I get excited thinking about all that is to come.

Now, please realize that I am not a sucker who thinks this supposed "golden" year will be full of big lotto wins, hot dates with millionaires and globe-trotting, all culminating in my fairytale wedding to Prince Charming. I just have a feeling that my fortune cookie for year 23 would say, "Good things are on the horizon." Here are a few of the "good things" on my horizon:

• I am getting ready to move out of my parents' house in a few weeks. I have always lived with them. In fact, I have always lived in the same house.
• My second year of teaching is about to begin; which I am much less nervous about than I was for my first year.
• I am hoping to go visit a friend in China at some point in the next 12 months.
• I plan to get a dog of my own, once I am settled into my new house.
• My best friend promised me that we can travel somewhere incredible next summer (this might end up being the China trip, but I'll take a BFF adventure any way I can get it!)

There is so much more I want to share with y'all, but it seems that I am getting a bit wordy at this point. I hope you'll stick around to read my crazy stories, ridiculous thoughts and stubborn opinions. I've already got a list of topics I plan to blog about, so check back often. Please feel free to comment, ask questions and tell me your own opinions, whether you like, dislike, agree or disagree with something I say. Just don't be mean, or else I'll delete your comment and possibly cry.

Keep Calm and Carry On, folks...

Katie Mc