The Snow Must Not Go On!

Ello!

Sorry I haven't blogged in a lil while. Honestly I have just not been "feeling it" as you will. Ya see, mother nature is a raging bitch. There's been over 2 feet of snow by me in past week or so. Not cool. All this snow has made for a very cranky, stir crazy Crippie. Not only has the snow been constricting me in terms of what I can and cannot do, it's also making me hurt like crazy. I can feel one of my knees swelling up as I'm writing this. Ugh, sorry to complain... it's just frustrating being trapped inside your home and inside your body. I want spring, also Crippie is pretty much set on moving to Arizona one day. As much as I hate scorpions and all that jazz, at this point I hate snow more.

Moving on from weather rants, here's what I've been up to since I'm pretty much trapped between work and home...

Watching "The Walking Dead" - So happy to have this back on. Normally I have little "Walking Dead Parties" with some of my pals, but the weather has prevented them thus far. Hopefully this weekend they shall resume.

"House of Cards" Marathon - *insert Southern drawl* oh my lawd I do love me some House of Cards. The only bad thing about this show is that it makes you crave ribs. It took me a little over a day to finish watching the second season. Last season my favorite character was Claire. While she is still super awesome this season, a new character came in and stole my heart... CASHEW THE GUINEA PIG! I don't want to spoil anything for those of you still watching, but Cashew is amazing and she makes the show.

grabbingsand.tumblr.com / Via Netflix

Listening to the soundtrack of "Frozen" - I have not seen this movie yet, but I really need to. I'm not exaggerating when I say I listened "Let it Go" and "Do You Want to Build A Snowman?" at least four times today. AT LEAST!

Listening to the soundtrack of "Inside Llewyn Davis" - I have not seen this movie either. But I adore the soundtrack. It's definitely one of my favorites. I wish it was longer like "O Brother Where Art Thou" but it's still amazing. If you haven't heard Marcus Mumford & Oscar Issac's cover of "Fare Thee Well - Dink's Song" or Stark Sand's cover of "The Last Thing on My Mind" you need to. As much as love soundtracks with original music, I love soundtracks like this that reintroduce classics. I like my music to have a history. And the songs on this album most certainly do. If you're a folky like me, you'll love this.

Reading - GASP! I know! I'm that bored. I finished reading Art Spiegelman's "Maus" last month and I LOVED it. It's so tragic and gave me all sorts of feels, but it's incredibly well written and well drawn. I cannot recommend it enough. I also read David B.'s "Epileptic". It's the story of the author's experience growing up with his epileptic brother. It got a little confusing at times but I absolutely loved how the author portrayed his brother's illness. Like a monster trying to consume him. Very good read. Also recommend it. To compensate for all the depressing feels I am currently reading Allie Brosh's "Hyperbole and a Half". I'm only one chapter in and I kid you not I was crying from laughter on multiple occasions. In my opinion, her visualizations of depression are the most accurate and relatable descriptions I have ever encountered. As someone who doesn't suffer from depression I read it and go "Oh... I get it now". I haven't even finished this book and I can already tell you that I freaking love it.

Watching Teen Mom 2 - Don't judge me, it's my guilty pleasure. Apart from seeing all of the stupidity and it making me feel better about my life, this season in particular is actually quite poignant. The daughter of one of the girls was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. The contrast of seeing her deal with fitting her daughter in a wheelchair, coming to grips with how she will not be able to things a lot of other kids will go, still clinging to hope that she'll walk down the aisle when she gets married, etc while the others deal with such meaningless "drama". It's compelling, it's real, and it's something that doesn't get featured on TV often.

Snuggles with the Animals - Obviously all of my furbabies have been getting oodles of loves.

Well, that's about it around here. The weather is supposed to warm up for a few days. I'll enjoy it while I have it.

Crippie's Tippie - Use a cane or a walker? Obtain ice picks for them.

Crippie Remembers Pete Seeger

Greetings!

Thank you guys sooooooo much for all of your support for my little jewelry business. I made a facebook page for 'em, if you wanna check it out click HERE.

I hope all my readers are staying warm during this most recent winter storm. I don't know about you guys, but Crippie is beyond done with these storms. The cold hurts my joints, the snow limits where I can go, AND literally every place I have gone in the past few days has used at least one (or the only) handicap parking spot as a dumping place for snow. UGH! It feels like this weather is restricting and suffocating me. One day I'll probably move somewhere without snow, but for now I must unfortunately deal with it. Any recommendations of nice, dry places to live? Preferably without scorpions. :)

Moving on, as you may know Pete Seeger, arguably the greatest folk singer ever passed away on January 27th at the age of 94. I was absolutely devastated when the news of his death broke. I was raised on Pete Seeger's music and still listen to it (I'm listening to Turn, Turn, Turn right now). He was such a talented musician and singer, a bad ass activist (performing at the Occupy Wallstreet rallies, being blacklisted, all that fun stuff) but also a genuinely awesome person. Crippie would like to share a lil' story about my mother's own personal experience with Pete Seeger...

"When I was about 11, 3 civil rights workers were murdered in Mississippi. Having been raised in the ways of Pete Seeger and the Weavers, Woody Guthrie and others in the folk music scene, I did what you were supposed to do, and I wrote a song about it. Not a bad song for an 11 year old folkie, and my mom sent it to Pete Seeger, who actually answered! His secretary signed the letter, but Pete Seeger sent my song to Broadside Magazine! They never published it, but it didn't matter. I had this letter from my hero. It's framed and hanging in our hallway, together with the letter I received from Robert and Carolyn Goodman, parents of Andy Goodman, one of the murdered civil rights workers. This is one of my most treasured mementos, one of my most treasured memories."

How amazing is that? BTW, if any of you youngins' have never heard of the event my mother is referring to, click HERE, events like that should not be forgotten.

Here are a few of Crippie's favorite Pete Seeger songs. I know a lot of younger people don't always appreciate this kind of music, but maybe they need to be educated. (Yes, I know he didn't write some of these songs, but they're fantastic covers regardless)

Think that's enough of 'em? Believe me this is a small sampling of my favorite Pete Seeger songs. 

Rest in Peace Pete, thank you for the music <3

Crippie's Tippie - If you haven't checked out Pete Seeger's music... do it... now.

Introducing...

Hi Y'all!

I'm glad to see y'all enjoyed my lil' parking space rant. Funny thing about that... the day after I posted it someone was parked in "my" handicap space without a permit. UGH! I let them live though because the snow knocked the sign down... but still... FRUSTRATION!

Sorry I haven't posted anything new in a week, I was actually insanely busy. With what you might ask? Remember how I wanted to set up an Etsy shop? Well, I decided not to because I remembered how much I hate etsy and their fees. So I opted for a better alternative... ladies and gentlemen I present to you *drumroll*

Yup, Crippie made these fabulous pieces of jewelry, and believe it or not they are made out of nail polish! These pieces and oodles more are available in my new online store "The Flying Frida"! Fun fact: all of the jewelry I sell is handicap friendly. The necklaces have long chains so you don't need to unfasten them and the rings are all adjustable to accommodate swollen joints. :D

Frida was always a fan of shiny things, I'd like to think she's somewhere looking at these with an expression like 0.0 . I absolutely love making nail polish jewelry and I had a blast putting the store together so if y'all could go check it out I'd really appreciate it! I'll be filling it with more sparkly goodies in the coming weeks and I'll definitely keep ya posted when I do. BTW, if anyone interested I'd be willing to do a tutorial on how to make these things. 

Crippie's Tippie - Check out my store! (shameless self promotion yes, but LOOK AT THE SHINY!)

On Handicap Parking Spaces

Greetings!

I hope all my lovely readers are enjoying this FRIGID COLD WEATHER! Ugh, I swear Mother Nature is an evil, evil woman. When I'm not at work or doing stuff and or thangs for my resolutions I am in bed with a heat pack. Crippie hates cold weather and cold weather hates Crippie. My joints get really stiff during this time of year, it's hard to move :( which leads me to tonight's topic... handicap parking permits. Prepare for a cripple rant folks!

<rant>
One of my biggest pet peeves ever is when normals park in handicap spaces. It just makes my blood boil. Why? Partly because it's against the law and I am not a fan of law breaking in general. Mainly because it's rude and inconsiderate. Let me tell y'all a little story. At a place where I spend a great deal of time there is a smallish parking lot with one handicap space. I use this space most of the time because I freaking need to. Well... sometimes this parking lot gets a little crowded. What happens when the parking lot gets full? Normals stop caring about decency and laws and park in the handicap spot! I've seen people who I know go on daily hikes and are on volleyball teams parking in the handicap spot! There are places to park near this parking lot where these very active people could park... but no, they don't they take my spot! I actually had to say something to people high up at this place and told them to send a memo for people reminding them that it is illegal and wrong to park in a handicap spot without a sticker. Some people weren't pleased with me, but I don't care. I don't care about how crowded a parking lot gets. I don't care if it's only for a second. I really don't care if you have to walk an extra minute out of your way. You can walk. You'll live. If you are a normal these spots do not belong to you. They belong to people like me. We have earned our blue stickers and we pay a very heavy price for them.

This applies to other special parking spots too. Don't park in the "expecting mothers" spot unless you've got a really uncomfortable pregnant lady in your car. They're carrying an extra 30 pounds of small human, let them have their damn spot.

I'm not being a special snowflake here. I am not taking advantage of a system. I try to park in normal spots when my legs permit. I do park in normal spots when the handicap spots are taken. It's painful to walk sometimes, but I manage. This isn't entitlement. This isn't "oh I'm disabled... give me a good spot". No, being disabled is not just a term, there is baggage that goes with it... pain, restricted mobility, countless insanely valid reasons why I genuinely need to park closer to a building.

Being a dick is not a disability, thus you can park elsewhere!
</rant>

Yeaaaaaaahhh... Crippie gets angry sometimes. So what do y'all think? Am I being too harsh? Not harsh enough? Should I print out business cards to stick on the windshields saying "Being a dick is not a disability"? Share your thoughts, I wanna hear 'em! And yes I do know that cripples abuse the handicap sticker but for the sake of today's argument I'm just talking about normals parking in the spots without a permit.

Crippie's Tippie - Before you get mad at a car/driver, check their license plate to make sure they don't have a handicap plate. I know too many people who have bitched out cripples because they didn't see the plates.

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