Damn Mother Nature, You Crazy

Yo! 

I hope everyone is staying WARM this week. It's insanely cold by me and I'm really not ok with it. I don't know if it's possible or not but it feels like the staples in my knee and ankle contract whenever it gets stupidly cold... like now. Right now my best friends are Glenn the heat pack at home and Daniel Radcliffe the heat pack at work. Currently I'd say that I have heat pack on for about 75% of the day. It sounds rather extreme, but it's keeping my joints from getting too painful. Also it keeps me toasty.

Today was a good day though. Mainly because I didn't leave my house. I had the day off from work so I stayed home, had hot chocolate, cuddled up with Glenn, and that's about it. 

Yup, TRIPLE MARSHMALLOWS... be jealous. Today was also awesome because something very special came in the mail, my disability check. FREAKING FINALLY! I should probably clarify that this was just for the three weeks I couldn't work because due to that whole "recovering from having a giant mass removed from my hip" thing. I'm not getting monthly check or anything like that. Just a one time deal... but still... MASSIVE VICTORY FOR THE CRIPPLE!

Alrighty, I've got to pass out and have dreams about being awesome and winning battles, I'll probably toss in a guinea pig or two here in there just to spice the dream up.

Crippie's Tippie - As far as being rejected for disability goes... third time was the charm for me. I guess you really should fight it until you get approved. (Thanks for telling me to stick it out Mary)

Sure, You'll Listen to Obama but Not to Me!

Salutations!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I spent my day working and popping tylenols for a freakishly sore back. I did get to go into work late-ish today so I got to watch the inauguration today. I don't know about you guys but I enjoyed what I saw, and I wasn't the only one in my house who agreed. Angel was "watching" with the family, and by watching I mean sleeping on the couch. Someone on the TV said "All rise" and the next thing we know Angel is sitting at full attention, watching the TV. If that isn't funny enough when the person said "You may be seated" she went back to sleep! I don't get it, she hardly listens to us! But I guess she's a democrat.

Believe it or not she is not the only political pet in our household. Even though Helen slept through today's festivities, she made her opinions known during the election. Whenever I'd watch a debate with her she'd start growling whenever Obama spoke! She'd be perfectly fine with Romney but as soon as Obama started talking she'd make her opinions known that she did NOT like him. At all! So yeah, one of my dogs is a democrat and the other is a republican. My guess is that when they are not busy sleeping or eating they are discussing whatever current events they heard when they were awake.

The piggies don't particularly care about politics, and they probably won't unless someone proposes a ban on lettuce. If that ever happens... ALL HELL WILL BREAK LOOSE!

In other news, the scar from Fanny's removal has officially keloided. No longer is it a scar that's kinda puffy for the time being but will flatten out in a year or two... nope... mofo is a keloid. Since this scar is on a sensitive area that moves around a lot, it gets rather painful from time to time. It's not as painful as Fanny was so I don't mind the trade off... but still... the bastard hurts. I'm trying to put lotion on it but me thinks I might need to invest in a scar cream to help soften this sucker. Any suggestions in good scar creams? Would a stretch mark lotion be better? Help me comrades! WHAT SHOULD I DO!

In other, other news, I've been rejected for disability AGAIN. This time we sent an ass ton of papers and medical records, and my doctor needs to fill out some forms stating that I am in fact, a cripple. Ugh, I hate to say it but if I get rejected again I'm not gonna bother fighting it. For the amount of money I'd be getting, it's not worth putting in any more effort.

That's it for tonight folks, y'all have a good tomorrow. STAY WARM!

Crippie's Tippie - Dogs are smarter than they look sometimes

Hanukkah Starts WHEN?!?!?!

Happy Hanukkah Y'all!

I hope everyone is having an awesome holiday season thus far. So far mine's been pretty good. Yesterday I went to see my sister's holiday choral concert and then we all went out for my birthday dinner. Steak is awesome. It was a fun time had by all.

Now, on to a "Jew-ey" question. People often ask me "So, why does Hanukkah start on a different day every year?" This year it started on the 8th of December, next year starts on the 27th of November (too early for my liking, but whatever). Why does it start on a different day each year? Here's the thing, Hanukkah always starts on the 25th... of Kislev (Hebrew Calendar). Yup, the date changes based on the Hebrew Calendar. It always falls sometime between late November and late December.

Related question... "Do you remember or memorize when Hanukkah is gonna start each year?" Personally, NOPE. I google it in November ;) I might remember next year's simply because it is so damn early. Late November Hanukkahs are on the rare side too so it's kinda special.

Another related question... "What happens when Hanukkah falls on your birthday?" This happens fairly often, we just celebrate both as usual. We still light the menorah, we still have copious amounts of birthday cake, the only difference is that I might get more pressies on that day ;)

Soooooo, in non-jew-ey cripple news, I got a letter today informing me that I was rejected for my disability claim I made when I had Fanny removed. Yup, it's about 3 months later and I'm just finding this out. This could be a "we're just testing you" rejection, and I have every intention of fighting it. Any tips on dealing with these fun little situations readers?

Jew-ey's Tippie - Holiday decorations aren't exclusive to Christmas, add some nice gold lights and some blue and gold garland and you've got yourself a shnazzy set-up

Lucky #13

Howdy Y'all!

13 Days til Fanny's departure! W00000000000t

Even though my surgery is less than two weeks away, and my pre-ops are a week away... STILL NOT AFRAID! Maybe this will be the first surgery in a long time where I don't make myself sick beforehand :D I'm continuing to practice moving around like an ever bigger cripple, I've almost mastered the whole walking thing. I did try to walk up the stairs, that's definitely gonna be a challenge. It's hard to really tell though, a lot depends on if my leg will be able to move and if I can put some weight on it. Either way I'll probably need someone behind me to hold my waist as I go up. We've got most everything about recovery figured out. The one thing I'm not sure of is the whole "how am I gonna use the bathroom" thing. Fanny's location will probably make for some interesting post surgery dressings. I have no idea what to expect there... I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will just be a simple dressing around my waist. Oh well, I know how to physically get on the toilet seat, which is all that really matters I guess.

I was a teensy bit worried that all the anxiety would kick in today, but surprisingly it was quite the opposite. I found out that I qualify for temporary disability, so that relieved a tooooooooooooooon of anxiety for me. My superiors at work are being super awesome about this whole surgery thing, they were totally cool when I said that I might have be a little late to work on the days when I have pre-ops... so muccccchhh anxiety lifted off my shoulders there. Gotta love having burdens removed from you instead of adding them... YAY ME!

I think this whole Scenty Fundraiser is also helping me drive away whatever feelings of dread I might have. Planning, setting up, promoting, etc make for very worthwhile distractions. My fellow cripples and I are spreading the word of how awesome Scentsy products are. Remember to spread the word my fellow comrades! Also, if anyone else is having a fundraiser and want to spread the word just let me know, I'll be happy to advertise it here :)

I reckon that's it for tonight folks, I promise I'll post animal photos tomorrow to make up for the shortness!

Crippie's Tippie - Spread the word about my fundraiser please! 

The Big D

Sup Everybody?

ENTER TO WIN MY REALLY AWESOMELY DESIGNED T-SHIRT HERE!!!!

I just finished cleaning the guinea pigs cages (they say hi btw), figured I'd get a quick blog post in before bed. I just checked my comment section and saw that someone asked me about my opinion on filing for disability. I've never filed for disability, but I probs will if I ever need to have major surgery again (btw, thanks Aflac for not covering pre-existing conditions... go duck yourselves).

Filing for disability is not something to be taken lightly. You don't get a whole lot of money and if you have health insurance you could lose benefits. I see filing for disability as an absolute last resort. My advice to anyone with a disability is to (as unfortunate as this sounds) plan your career around your disability. I have chronic pain and fatigue, thus I chose a career that involves sitting at a desk all day. Have social anxiety? Plan something that doesn't involve a whole lot of social interaction. Naturally you should pick something that you love to do but you really have to take your disability into consideration. I know this sounds really harsh but we have to be realistic. We also have to do our best to keep our symptoms at bay. I regularly see my pain management doctor to keep my pain levels at a tolerable amount. Of course everyone's situation is different. If you are really, really sick and cannot make enough money to support by all means file away. To summarize on the original question on whether or not it is a "good idea" to file for disability or not, if you have exhausted all other options, if you cannot function even when you are being properly treated, then filing would not be a bad idea.

Crippie's Tippie- If your disability doesn't always render you useless, I suggest seeing if your state has services that help cripples get employment. They can help you find some form of work that can be more accommodating to your needs. Crippie used this place to help her find employment.