NHBPM- Tommy Tumor

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!


I figured I'd start this out post out with my favorite Thanksgiving song (apart from Alice's Restaurant, but no one would stay on my screen for 20 minutes to hear it). Crippie wishes all of her readers a happy and healthy holiday. I'll spending the holiday with some of my relatives in New Jersey, OBOI.
I find it a little weird that today's blog prompt has nothing to do with Thanksgiving at all, but it's still very enjoyable nonetheless. My Mascot! Give your condition, community, or self a mascot. Who is it? What do they represent? What is their battle cry?


True story, Crippie made a mascot for her condition yeaaaaaaarrrrssssssss ago. I was making a comic for a magazine that www.mheandme.com releases every couple of months and I created a character named...

Who is it- Tommy Tumor is a fun loving tumor that always manages to have part of it's tumor self chopped off in one way or another. Technically he is a malformed bone with tumors on it.

What does it represent- *tries to sound like an artist who knows what they are talking about* Tommy Tumor is a lighthearted metaphor for for someone with MHE who has to have what seem like constant surgeries to remove their tumors. 

What is their battle cry- See the video below...

There ya have it folks. My diseases mascot is a tumor that sings the "I'm a Tumor Song". I'm so deep and metaphorical, it blows my mind sometimes.

Crippie's Tippie- Enjoy your Thanksgiving and remember to be thankful for EVERYTHING you have! 

Tommy's Tippie- IMMA TUMOR IMMA TUMOR IMMA TUMOR IMMA TUMOR IMMA TUMOR... OH OH OH IMMA TUMOR! 

This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J 

NHBPM- Cripple Etiquette

Ohai Everyone!

I hope everyone enjoyed their day before Thanksgiving. I got off work early so I throughly enjoyed my day. Today's blog prompt looks awesome, and by that I mean I can do whatever I want with saying something like "IMMA REBEL" before doing so. Today's prompt is... Health Activist Choice. Write about whatever you want! Swwweeeeeeeetttt. Several normals have approached Crippie and asked various etiquette questions, so without further adieu I give you...

If the cripple is a stranger...

DON'T- Stare at them, it's really annoying

DO- If you're gonna stare at 'em you might as well just ask why said person is a cripple

DON'T- Make cripple jokes, you will look like an asshole

DON'T- Ask the cripple (or cripple's caregiver) if said cripple is dying or what their life expectancy is. If you really must know, GOOGLE IT. And yes, someone asked if I was dying once.

DO- If you see a cripple clearly struggling with something, offer to help. 

If the cripple is your friend

DON'T- Make cripple jokes unless the cripple makes them first. Not all cripples like joking about their situation

DO- Remember that cripple friends can't always do the same things as normal friends

DO- Offer your cripple friend help only when they ask for it or if you see them clearly struggling. It's not that we don't appreciate the help, it's just that we like to do things on own whenever possible.

So there ya have it folks, a basic guide for the normals! BTW normals, if I am offending any of you by calling you "normals" please let me know. If you have any other ideas for nicknames for normal people please post in the comment section. I was thinking of calling them "muggles" but I sadly I don't think it quite applies. 

Crippie's Tippie- At the end of the day just remember that cripples are "special normals". 

This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J 

NHBPM- Crippie is a REBEL!!!!!

Hi Everybody!

Crippie is gonna ignore ANOTHER NHBPM prompt tonight! The prompt I'm going to ignore tonight is... Be present. Describe something peaceful with as much sensory imagery as you can. What are the sights, sounds, scents, and feelings? 
I'm ignoring this one for several reasons, one being I'm very tired and I think I might be getting sick, the other reason is that I'm not very good at describing "love-y dove-y abstract things" like that. I'm kinda literal when it comes to that stuff.
Instead I'm gonna answer a question that I was recently asked. Since Crippie is such a rebel I was asked if I ever do things to taunt and or "freak out" normals. When Crippie is vastly outnumbered by normals I leave them alone. When Crippie is with several other crippies... HELL YEAH WE FREAK OUT NORMALS! 
We cripples are very subtle about our "normal freak outs". Generally we go out in public, somewhere with a lot of people in a small space, like an elevator and discuss our crippledness. It can be as simple as "hey look at my new scar" or as complex as "do you think society looks down on us for being disabled?" and we just continue this conversation and weird out the normals. Nothin' terrible, but boy do we enjoy weirding people out on occasion. Why do we do this? Why not? We're pretty sure that people get uncomfortable around cripples they don't know anyway... why not get some lulz out of it.


Crippie's Tippie- Don't freak out the normals tooooo often, then it loses it's magic. 


This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J 

NHBPM- PRETTY COLORS

Yo!

I'm 2/3rds of the way finished with NHBPM... YAY ME. Today's prompt seems pretty nifty... Ekphrasis post. Ekphrasis (writing about another art form) – Find a Flickr Image in Creative Commons that inspires you in some way (positively or negatively) and free write about it. Give yourself exactly 15 minutes to write without stopping. Don’t think! Brave bonus: Publish to your blog without editing! (You can include a disclaimer)


Alrighty, I'm not terribly good at writing without stopping. So I'm gonna post some pictures by one of my favorite artists of all time, Matt Lyon. Prepare to behold the awesome!

Told ya they were awesome. Whenever I need design inspiration or just a little boost of "teh happiez" Matt Lyon's work is there. It's bold, colorful, organic, full of texture and pattern gotta love the pattern, and just beautiful overall. I'm relatively sure that I've mentioned in prior posts that I like to look at pretty things in order to distract myself from whatever ugly things are going on in my life. I literally feel happier when I look at his artwork and typography prints. What can I say, I'm a sucker for pretty colors and typography... and I'm in heaven when he works an inspirational quote into typography pieces.

So yeah, I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to art... as long as the colors are pretty I'm good.

Crippie's Tippie - Check out www.society6.com it's filled with other up and coming artists. They also have an iPod app for backgrounds. True story, I have well over 800 pictures saved from this app.


This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J 

NHBPM- Crippie Makes A Funny

Greetings Fellow Earthlings,

I hope you all had a lovely Sunday. I spent my day working, sleeping, and watching silly YouTube videos with my Frida. Speaking of YouTube, todays NHBPM post is... LOL post. Write a post about a moment that made you laugh. Or a video, picture, blog post, or something else that made you laugh.


Frida wanted to share a video with you guys before I share my favorite silly videos...

Now on to my favorite silly videos

BEST BOB DYLAN SONG

BEST MOMENT OF IMPROV EVER

BEST TIM GUNN IMPERSONATION EVER

BEST RANDOM LES MISERABLES MUSICAL NUMBER

BEST TOTALLY KYLE EPISODE

BEST HAPPY FERRET

I have no life and watch YouTube videos all the freakin' time... sue me. Got any videos you think will crack me up, post 'em in the comment section. I'll gladly edit this post to add more stupid videos.


Crippie's Tippie- Collegehumor.com and funnyordie.com are also great sites for stupid videos. I love them.


This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J 

NHBPM- Crippie Highlights!

Ohai Everybody!

Angel says thank you for any birthday well wishes and a special thank you for any well wishes that actually involved food. Moving on to tonight's blog prompt, its pretty easy so I won't ignore it ;). The topic today is... “Best of” post. Grab a post from your archives and repost it! Add a few sentences at the beginning to frame it. Why you chose it. Why you liked it. And why it should be shared again. 
Alrighty, I'm gonna base my "best of" post by the amount of views/comments/feedback/etc. I've gotten from it.

1st Awesome Crippie Post - THE SCAR WARS POST. I guess people like hearing me talk about tampon shaped scars.

2nd Awesome Crippie Post - THE IT'S GON RAIN POST. It's awesome for several reasons... OLLIE WILLIAMS, RAIN, PEOPLE LIKE IT

3rd Awesome Crippie Post - THE CRIPPIE LISTS THE PROS AND CONS OF BEING A CRIPPLE POST - People like finding pros to being a cripple I reckon.

So there ya go, 3 of Crippie's most popular posts. Enjoy 'em all over again!

Crippie's Tippie- Google Analytics is a nifty tool to use if you want to track blog stats beyond what blogger has. 

This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J 

NHBPM- Crippie Ignores Yet Another Prompt!

Hey Y'all!

I've decided to ignore yet another prompt! Yay me! The prompt I'm ignoring today is... A comment as a blog post. Pick someone else’s post (from the past or from today) and write a comment to them. Write that comment as your blog post for today. Link back to them to let them know you were inspired. Yeah, I'm honestly too tired to write something meaningful. To be fair I'll post some links of cripple blogs that I enjoy and read whenever I get the chance...
http://www.dysautonomic.blogspot.com/ - awesome blog and very honest
http://notesoflifeandlove.blogspot.com/ - one of "my" cripples (by that I mean we both have MHE) blogs about her life and her stupidly adorable children... I'm serious, her kids are freakin' cute.
http://afternoonnapsociety.blogspot.com/ - informative and well written *snaps for smart bloggers*


So there, I kinda did what I was supposed to do... but I really just wanna show you pictures of Angel's "birthday" burger. We were gonna do a little deli platter thing but we opted for a burger again at the last minute. 

Do you have any food for me?

Is that a burger I see?

IT IS A BURGER

OMG DO WANT NOW

Can I have some more? Please?

Yes, to those wondering, that's what Crippie sounds like and yes, my sister photobombed the video. 

Crippie's Tippie- If you are looking for a dog, always look at shelters and local rescues first. There are plenty of little Angels who need good homes.

Angel's Tippie- GIVE ME MOAR BURGERS, PPPPLLLLLEEEEEAAASSSSSEEEE

This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J 

NHBPM- Let It Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Ohai,

Well, it looks like today's NHBPM prompt is not quite as chipper as yesterday's... oh well. Today's prompt is... Let It Be. What’s something that bothers you or weighs on you? Let it go. Talk out the letting go process and how you’re going to be better to yourself for it.


Okay... <StartCrippleRant>
Alright, occasionally when I check out other blogs (I like pretty blogs... SUPPORT THE PRETTY BLOGS) and see posts where they are discussing things in their lives like buying an apartment, living in some big city, getting married, whatever it might be... it makes me feel... well... bad. I start thinking things like "I could've done that if I wasn't a cripple". I guess seeing random normals thriving makes me feel sickly. It's not that I'm unhappy with my life or anything, but being reminded of what I'm missing hurts. It's not an all consuming pain though, I feel happiness for the normal in their time of good fortune, it can just get me down from time to time.
As far as the letting go process, I try to be as rational as possible and think the following things...
-ENOUGH WITH THE "WHAT IFS"- There is no point in thinking this, stop wasting your time and emotions
-It is what it is - I can't change the situation so I might as well accept it
-There is someone out there reading my blog thinking "wow, Crippie is so lucky" she's overcoming her disability. She got a job, fantastic". Stop being a dick and be grateful for where you are in your life, could it be better, of course, but it could be a whoolllleeee lot worse.
</CrippleRant>

So yeah, there are times when negative feelings weigh me down, but ultimately I remember that a negative attitude will get me nowhere. I try to focus on the positives in my life and just accept the rest.

On a lighter note... ANGEL'S "BIRTHDAY" IS TOMORROW!!! We have decided to go with a deli platter of people food for her. I'm gonna try and get that on video.

Crippie's Tippie - When I am in a particularly bad mood I literally start singing "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life"... it usually helps me feel better.

This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J 

NHBPM- I'm Pretty Sure I Can

Whuzzup! 

I've been singing that "Imma Tumor Song" in my head AAALLLLL DAY LONG. I'm pretty sure i was singing it in my dreams last night... yeah, my username is Special McSpecial for a reason. Lucky for you guys tonight's prompt doesn't involve songs that will get stuck in your head for the remainder of the day. Today's cue is... Little Engine Post. Write a list post with 10-15 lines that start each with “I think I can...” Write 5 lines at the end that start with “I know I can.”

Let's being shall we?

- I think I can drive on roads that I'm not completely familiar with without someone else in the car

- I think I can teach some of my guinea pigs how to do tricks (I would say all but I'm realistic) 

- I think I can obtain a bunch of freelance clients 

- I think I can work a 40+ hour week and not feel completely tired

- I think I can learn to play the song "I'll Fly Away" on my mandolin (seriously, that's the only song I want to learn to how to play... CRAP I'M SINGING IT MY HEAD NOW... NNNNNOOOOOO) 

- I think I can get the song "I'll Fly Away" out of my head

- I think I can gain more independence over the next year or so 

- I think I can learn how to cook (I can make a mean fried egg, but that's about it)

- I think I can design and illustrate a bunch of books 

- I think I can come up with ten "I think I can phrases"

- I KNOW I can finish NHBPM without missing a day

- I KNOW I can lift a giant ass branch when it falls on my property after a storm (long story) 

- I KNOW I can overcome my driving anxiety

- I KNOW I can push myself to do things I didn't think were possible

- I KNOW I can come up with one last "I know I can phrase".

Crippie's Tippie- If this whole concept of "I think I can" seems stupid to you... break your your goal into smaller goals. Ex. I can work for five hours *five hours passes* I can work for 10 hours, etc. 

This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J 

NHBPM- Crippie's Anthem

Hey Y'all

WE'RE AT THE HALFWAY POINT OF NHBPM! Tonight's prompt looks purdy damn entertaining... This one’s for you, baby. Dedicate a song to your condition. Why did you pick that song? Find a youtube or link to a version to embed in your post. Not gonna lie, I've been pretty stoked for tonight's prompt since day one. Honestly, the moment I saw this prompt I knew what song I was going to dedicate to my condition. QUICK REMINDER- My condition is Multiple Hereditary Exostoses, it causes benign tumors to grow on my bones.
So without further adieu I give you... 

Yes, I dedicate the "Imma Tumor Song" from Family Guy to my condition. Seriously, what else other songs could I have done? "My Humps"? I don't think so. Why did I pick that song? THE SONG IS SUNG BY A SINGING TUMOR ABOUT HOW IT'S A TUMOR!!! It's been my theme song from the moment I saw the episode. 


Crippie's Tippie- If you ever want to find a hilarious/borderline offensive clip about a specific disability, Family Guy is the show for you.


This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J