Crippie Plays The Tennessee Flat Top Box... Sorta...

Howdy Y'all! 

Crippie's back! Yet again! I spent most of last week in Nashville and I had an absolute blast. Here's a photo dump of most of the stuff I did.

I spent a whooooooollllllleee lotta time in a car. Over 16 hours each way. I kept myself occupied by listening to music and reading. Finally got a chance to read "Maus". Cannot recommend that book enough. 

I got to visit with my relatives, and their pets. My aunt's Shih Tzu loves me because I give good belly rubs and snuggles. And in case you are wondering, yes the dog is wearing a Christmas Tree hat and yes the dog tolerated it.

I got to see some old family photographs and postcards. These are from the 1920's. Hard to believe they're almost 100 years old!

I went to my favorite soda shop in Downtown Nashville. Last time I was there I tried the infamous "Bacon Soda" and while I tolerated it I'll never drink it again. This year I decided to be a grown-ass adult and opt for a "real" cream soda. This stuff is amazeballs!

Yeah... noooooooooooooooo

SODA AND CANDY! 

I stepped inside the "Johnny Cash Museum" for a hot second. Just long enough to see these punny soaps. 

I walked around Downtown Nashville without a cane! Actually, I walked everywhere this trip without a cane because I'm an idiot and left it at home. Whoops. Oh wells, I actually did very well and didn't injure myself. GO ME!

I ate a LOT. Crippie consumed an obscene amount of Southern food. Boy howdy I love me some country ham and biscuits and gravy. We also went to the only Jewish Deli in Nashville, aptly named "Noshville". So I also had a bagel and lox to balance out all the biscuits and gravy. This place is amazing and if any of my readers are in the general area y'all need to go there. It was also fun cause I got to watch all the goyim mispronounce the Jewish foods :D

We went on a walking bridge with spectacular views of the city. I've always loved Nashville's skyline. When I was little I used to call it "The Emerald City". 

Dat sunset *drools*

Would you believe that this was a candid shot and I was not trying to look like an idiot? 

See, I was trying to take good pictures like this! Also, while my legs are knock-kneed I'm bending it in this shot to it looks worse than it actually is.

Well, that's about it. I had an amazing time but now I've gotta get back into the swing of things here. I don't have much planned for this week, but I'm working on some resolutions so I'll actually be fairly busy. Night y'all!

Crippie's Tippie - Accept biscuits and gravy into your life

So This Is What Being Normal Feels Like!

Greetings Comrades!

I hope you all are having a fantastic Saturday. :)

Judging by the title of this post you'd think it was about my disability but shockingly it's not. As some of you may or may not remember Crippie's hair has a mind of it's own. It's big, fluffy, frizzy, long, and naturally dreads very quickly. Don't remember? Let's see if these pics jog your memory...

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh... my hair sucks... I'll admit that. I swear to God a live rat once got tangled up in it (long story short of that... friends rat was grooming my hair, rat got tangled, rat starts crying, Crippie feels sorry for rat). Granted, part of the reason it sucks so much is the length, so while I was on my "Crippie Sucks at Blogging" sabbatical I went to have it cut... and while I was apologizing to the stylists who had to deal with this mess everybody in the damn salon (my mom, sister and the remainder of the stylists) convinced me to get a "keratin smoothing treatment". I was hesitant at first because I used to get my hair straightened in high school, and it made my hair fall out. All the stylists kept telling me "IT'S A SMOOTHING TREATMENT NOT A STRAIGHTENING TREATMENT!" and eventually I caved. I'm glad a caved too, because six hours later (you heard me right, SIX FREAKING HOURS) later, I was left with... brace yourselves... this!

OH MYLANTA MY HAIR IS NORMAL!!!! It had to be straight like this for a week before I could wash it and get my curls back (I hated how frizzy my hair was before, but I like the curly aspect). People didn't recognize me when I went into work! It was crazy! It didn't feel like my hair. My hair felt like straw, this new hair actually felt like hair. I didn't have to spend forever and a day trying to make it look presentable, it just did on it's own.

 

And when I washed my hair this was the result... not bad right? It's gained a little more volume in the past 2 months since I've done it, but that's probably a good thing. I cannot even begin to tell you guys how much better it feels to have hair that doesn't completely suck. It's sooooooooo much easier to maintain, especially since I physically have trouble maintaining my hair (my hair wouldn't have sucked so much before if I was able to defuse and or straighten it) All I have to do is wet it in the morning and I'm good to go. Crippie's definitely gonna be keeping this up. :D

Crippie's Tippie - If you're complimenting someone on their new hairdo or make-up say your hair looks "extra" good today, otherwise you're implying that it looked like crap before. 

Piggie Post: Nellie Turns 5!

Ohai Everybody!

While I was taking my "I suck at blogging" break in November, a certain someone turned 5 and we threw a huge bash for her. How does one go about throwing a party for a guinea pig? Well, it's quite simple really... we just obtained a bouncy castle, and by bouncy castle I mean tub of hay that we dropped the pigs in.

Aggie was the first pig in and naturally she wasted no time and started chowing down. She had a grand ol' time at the party and spent the remainder of the night wondering why she wasn't always surrounded by unlimited amounts of hay. (Yup, this totally sucked to write... miss you Aggie)

Lucy was next to have a turn in the hay bin. Much to my surprise she HATED it. She kept trying to dig her way out of the bin. She was promptly returned to her cage to make room for more willing participants.

 

Pru and Maggie were next. They were good little noodles and had a jolly time frolicking in and eating the hay.

Eleanor and the birthday girl were next. This didn't last long though because Eleanor decided to be a party pooper and bite Nellie in the ass. Once Eleanor was removed against her will Nellie happily munched on all the hay her little heart could want.

 

 

Happy birthday Nellie Bellie! Time to relax and enjoy your senior pig years! I'm sure your mommy and sisters were celebrating with you too :)

Crippie's Tippie - When in doubt just give your piggies a crap ton of hay and they'll be happy

Have A Nice Trip!

Howdy Y'all

HOLY CRAP IT'S COLD OUT! I hope all of my readers are staying nice and toasty in the comfort of their homes. It's freaking freezing by me but I've been doing my best to keep warm. God I love electric heat pads.

I'm just dropping by to let y'all know that I'm going on a quick trip down south this week. Great week to go on vacation... yeah, yeah I know -_-. Believe it or not this will not stop me from posting. I mean, yes, technically it will because the place I'm going to doesn't have WiFi and thus cannot post. But I'm queuing some posts up now, so it's all good. Writing posts for the future is so weird, cause it's for... ya know... the future.

To make up for a ridiculously short post, here's some pics of Helen being adorable and hating the cold.

In case you are wondering, the clothes are partly for her warmth, partly for our enjoyment ;)

Crippie's Tippie - I might not be able to blog this week, but I should be able to use Twitter & Instagram.  If you miss me THAT much follow me @icanhasdesign for twitter and @scarwars10 for Instagram. 

Resolution #9

BEATLES PUNNY!

I hope all my readers had a fantastic and safe New Year. I didn't do anything special, just nommed on shrimp cocktail whilst watching "The Walking Dead" and "The Twilight Zone" marathons.

Well, now that 2014 has crept on to us, it's time to discuss resolutions! I'm gonna roll with this Beatles pun and list nine of 'em (I didn't have nine when I started this post, but meh, I'll wing it). I'm gonna list 'em in order of importance that I complete them.

1) DRIVE ON HIGHWAYS - My driving skills have improved vastly over the past year and driving through some pretty craptacular snowstorms without wrecking my car has certainly boosted my confidence. This year Crippie is gonna take driving lessons to relearn highway driving. I've already found a place near me that caters to "anxious drivers" so that's good. Not knowing how to drive on highways/fear of complicated roads/fear of going to completely foreign places has held me back for far too long. This year it ends.

2) DESIGN CRAP - I've been meaning to open a Society6 shop for some time, but I've been burned the hell out and haven't been able to think about what I want to put in it. Do I wanna draw pictures of guinea pigs riding dinosaurs or do I want to be a mature adult and make some pretty typographic pieces? (Yes that was an actual thought process for me) I think I'm started to get a better idea of what kind of work I want to put into the world, expect to see a shnazzy shop full of awesome prints and t-shirts sooner or later this year.

3) BLOGGING GOD DAMN IT - Clearly I sucked at blogging last year. Here's to hoping that I get my act together this year. As always, if any of you have anything you want me to write about, feel free to post in the comments.

4) OPEN AN ETSY STORE - I'm actually well on my way to completing this. I had an etsy store in the past for design stuff, but I'm gonna close that and turn it into something else. Y'all are just gonna have to wait and see what I have in store. MOAR PUNS! I'm on a roll tonight!

5) DO MORE EXERCISES - Once the weather stops sucking I intend on doing more physical therapy exercises. While last year wasn't horrible pain wise it wasn't great either. I've gotta do some strengthening exercises, they should help reduce some of my discomfort.

6) EVEN MORE OF A SOCIAL LIFE - I did fairly well with this resolution last year and I plan on continuing this resolution this year.

7) ACTUALLY SUBMIT CONTENT TO REDDIT INSTEAD OF LURKING - Yeah... I'm one of those people...

8) REGULATE SLEEP CYCLE - I've been getting better at sleeping, I'm rarely awake past 2:30am, which for me is very impressive. Not even remotely close to perfect, so this year I'll continue on improving that.

9) TAKE ONLINE DEFENSIVE DRIVING COURSE - Partly for my driving anxieties, mainly to lower my insurance rates. ;)

YAY! I did it! Nine resolutions, w000000t! Let's see how much of this I can accomplish :)
In the meantime, here's a song that's pretty much gonna be my theme song for 2014.

Crippie's Tippie - Socially awkward but want to find a way to invite people over? Find people who like the same TV shows as you and invite them over to watch. You don't have to spend the entire time talking and the show itself gives you a conversation starter. 

Thankful

Happy New Year!

Two posts in two days? WHAT IS THIS MADNESS???????? As promised, to make up for the yesterday's depressing post, here's a happy one :)

I was contacted by the amazing Heather, a cancer survivor turned blogger to write a post about what I am thankful for because "If having cancer has taught me anything, it’s the value of life and the value of gratitude. My diagnosis was in November, and every year during the holiday season, I am reminded of this difficult time. Therefore, I have set out to acknowledge something in my life that I am thankful for every day throughout the month of December." How could I say no to a request like that? 

This might sound painfully obvious but I am eternally grateful for my family, friends and pets. My family has never left my side and have always been there for me when I need it most. They molded me into the person I am today and I cannot thank them enough for that. Don't even start me on the small things... I'd be lost if my dad never told me how to properly maintain my car, my mom helped start a support group for me so I wouldn't feel alone, my sister willingly does chores for me when I'm in too much pain to do so (which is often), and my grandma makes me nomerful dinners. I love them very much and am eternally thankful for their love and support. 

I'm just so incredibly thankful for the love and support of my family and friends. Since I have experienced many lows when it comes to friendship, I know the value of good ones. Here's a good example of how awesome my family and friends are. I turned 25 on December 4th but I wasn't exactly planning on doing anything special for it, I haven't been too keen on birthday parties since middle school, not to mention the whole "quarter-life crisis" thing. What do my family and friends do? They organize a surprise 25th birthday/watch the midseason finale of "The Walking Dead" party! I had a blast at my first real "party" in over a decade (even if I had lots of feels from watching "Santa" get his head chopped off with a katana). My family and friends are my happiness and my life would royally suck without them. *I just started singing that Kelly Clarkson song in my head :/* 

Last but not least, my furbabies. Before I begin to type this out I'd like to mention that Helen just had a nightmare and is now sleeping on one of my arms, it's numb and tingly. Let's see how typing with one hand goes! Ok, back to the subject. My animals are my comfort and my sanity. I am thankful for their unconditional love and snuggles. It is impossible for them to hate me and it's impossible for me to hate them. They know to give me extra snuggles when I'm in pain. It doesn't matter how craptacular my day was, when I see my piggies lined up for  salad my problems don't matter.

 

 I'll admit that 2013 wasn't the best year for me, but I am so thankful for what I have. I am extraordinarily blessed to have a support system that cares about me, I try to repay them to the best of my abilities, but it'll never be enough. So to those family and friends who know my blog, I say thank you. 

HAPPY 2014 Y'ALL! And thank you to all of my crippled comrades, I appreciate every last one of you :D

Crippie's Tippie - You can always find a cloud with a silver lining, regardless of how overcast it might seem

2013 Re(handi)cap

'Ello

Two posts in a month! SHOCKING! One of my resolutions for this year is to get the hell back to blogging... I really do miss it. 

In keeping with a yearly tradition (see 2012 & 2011) it's time to recap Crippie's year. I'm not gonna do a month by month recap cause I can pretty much recap 2013 with three little words. Ready?

EVERYTHING. FREAKING. DIED.

Yeaaaaaahhhh... this year I said goodbye to a great aunt, a great uncle, a childhood friend, Mama Pig, Frida and Aggie. 6 goodbyes in 12 months is really rough. A lot of good things happened this year too, don't get me wrong... I acquired 3 adorable piggies, I turned 25 (huzzah!), I obtained a social life, I went a year without having an operation and or any major complications, and a bunch of other good things... but still... the loss lingers. The death kinda trumps everything else. 

I'm gonna post again tomorrow, a happier post to make up for this one. But in the meantime, let's raise a glass in hopes that 2014 will be better. Here's to a happy and healthy New Year my comrades. 

And let's raise a glass to those we lost this year. May they rest in peace. Rise & Fly <3

 

 

Crippie's Tippie - Appreciate what you have while you have it, because things are taken away far too quickly

Aggie

Hey Guys,

Sorry I've royally sucked at blogging. I swear I'll get back to a regular schedule when I can.

Nellie and Angel are still alive and kicking, even though Angel's heart meds have put her into kidney failure. She still hanging in there though, which is good because no one in my house was ready to lose another pet. Unfortunately for us Aggie was diagnosed with heart failure two weeks ago. She passed away around 9:30 tonight after a valiant two-week fight. Aggie was four years old.

We obtained Aggie and Maggie for two reasons, one being that Maggie was so teensy and adorable, the second being that Aggie crawled into my mom's hood when she met her. They were just too freaking cute to pass up. Aggie was definitely skittish at first. This picture is from her first day home. She screamed when we took her out of her box and while she was being held. We placed her on the dog bed while we set up the cage, she stopped screaming, stood in amazement of the comfiness of her new bed for about 5 seconds, then promptly fell asleep. Also, holy crap look at how tiny they are!

Clearly Aggie didn't stay very tiny for very long. Ya see, if there was one thing Aggie loved more than anything in the whole world it was FOOD. Good Lord that pig loved to eat. It didn't even matter to her whether or not said thing in her mouth was edible. If it was near her face, she'd eat it. Her favorite non-edible "foods" were paper and metal. Her favorite actual food was food. She soon became the fattest pig in our house and was lovingly dubbed "Fat Ass Pig", "Fat Bastard", "Chubs McGee", "Fats Domino", "Fattie McFatFat" etc.

Aggie and her "buddy" Maggie had a very... um... tumultuous relationship. Aggie on the whole was very introverted and kept to herself while Maggie was freaking crazy. God help whichever pig wasn't in heat. While they tolerated each other for a few years their friendship ended when Aggie poked her eye on a piece of hay. Aggie let out her frustrations out on Maggie, and Maggie fought back. It was decided that the two were to be separated. Maggie went to live with Nellie, Frida and Mama Pig while Aggie FINALLY got some peace and quiet (generally speaking pigs should always be housed in pairs, Aggie was the exception to the rule). Aggie was my lil' lone wolf. She was completely content on her own.

She liked showing off her very boop-able nose. *boop*

 

Aggie LOVED being a lazy bum. She was also a "special" little bum, she enjoyed zoning out to "Weird Al Yankovic". What can I say? My piggies have very unique tastes in music.

She was veeeeerrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy vocal about how much she wanted to be fed. I could be across the house with headphones on and I'd STILL hear her wheeking to be fed. As soon as a fridge or a salad bag rustled during dinner time this lil' fattie would be standing up and screaming her lungs out.

Aggie is predeceased by her buddies Emma, Mama Pig, and Frida. She is survived by her frenemy Maggie, quasi-buddy Nellie, strange new pigs Eleanor and Prudence, pig that was either giving her kisses and or eating her hair earlier today Lucy, strange furry dog thing Helen, a very devastated Angel who has been moping around the house all night, and of course her humans, all of whom miss her dearly and will never forget her. Rest in peace my lil' fattie, I hope you're somewhere mindlessly grazing on whatever is in front of your adorable little face. Mommy loves you Aggie.  

Crippie's Tippie - Ask your vet to give you extra metacam for your piggies. It could mean the difference between leaving this world in agony or in peace.

P.S. I swear I'll return to blogging regularly one of these days. I do have things to share with y'all. But for now I just can't. Thanks for putting up with my suckiness guys. Love y'all - XOXO Crippie