Piggie Post - Small Pet Select Hay Review

Greetings

I hope everyone has had a great "wheek-end". Today I have a very special post for y'all! A few wheeks back my guinea pigs were asked to be, well, guinea pigs for Small Pet Select, an up and coming hay supplier. They wheeked with excitement over getting to try some tasty new hay! 

For those of you who don't know, piggies need to nom on hay around the clock. They need a constant supply of it. It helps with their digestive systems and their teeth. I buy 25 pounds of hay every two months or so, just to give y'all an idea of how much these little squirts consume. 

First off... my review! 

 

I'm a graphic designer so I started drooling as soon as I saw their website. They took the time to make site pretty and functional, which I realllllyyy appreciate. Once their box of hay arrived I started drooling again because they took the time to design to their packaging. Then I opened the box to find a handwritten letter using their customized stationary. I have to give massive kudos to companies that understand that graphic design is important. Now, on to the hay itself. The quality of the hay was excellent, it was green and it smells fresh. It's nice and soft which is fabulous. It is a million times better than any hay you could ever buy in a store. Also, if any of my readers are buying their hay from a store STAHP! Store bought hay (like Oxbow or Kaytee) is hard and terrible, not to mention your pig can get a wicked eye-poke from it. I also like how the box that the hay comes in can be used to store the hay as well. The hay I currently buy comes in a garbage bag. I also approve of how you can buy Small Pet Select Hay in bulk. For anyone with a multiple pigs, buying your supplies in bulk is a MUST. The price of their hay is fair and comparable to the other leading hay retailers. 

So does Small Pet Select have the owner's approval... HELL TO THE YES! But do the piggies like it? 

Mama, Frida, Nellie, & Maggie got to nom on the hay first. When they normally eat hay, they eat it like it's laced with crack. When I gave them the Small Pet Select hay they acted like it was laced with a Charlie Sheen amount of drugs. It was a hay frenzy. The happies were off the charts! Nellie was particularly fond of the new hay. She was shoving other pigs in order to get more of it!

 

Aggie was next to sample the new hay. Aggie is weird. She cautiously waddled to the hay, took a nibble, and ran to the other side of her cage and hid. She doesn't appear to particularly care for her new hay. Me thinks she is reaaaaaaallllllyyyyyyyy fond of the stuffI usually use (she inhales that stuff). 

I've been using the Small Pet Select hay for a few days with them to see how they act once the newness of the amazing hay wears off. The Quartet continues to consume copious amounts of hay and they are all very content piggies. Mama Pig loves her hay so much that she sleeps either next to the hay or with her head in the hay. Aggie is still weird, she eats the hay, but she doesn't love it. 

Overall: Four out of five pigs agree, Small Pet Select Hay is one of the best hays around! FOUR STARS! 

Piggie's Tippies - If you have piggies or any small animal that consumes hay... this stuff is freakin' delicious! 

Staples: That Was Easy

Oh Hello!

It's kinda amazing how well that slogan summarizes my day. My post-op appointment was today and I finally got those damn staples removed!

I'll admit I was slightly nervous about having the staples taken out, purely because I didn't know what to expect. Was I going to be attacked with a scary looking staple remover? How much was it gonna hurt? All those fun feelings. I had a general idea that today was gonna be on the painful side so I took some stronger pain killers before I left for the doctor. It actually wasn't too bad. The only thing that hurt was when my doctor took off the bandage. Picture removing a giant waterproof bandaid from your lower back to you bum... OUCHIES! Once the bandage was removed I got the chance to see my scar before the staples being removed. My first thought was "HOLY MOLY THAT'S A LOT OF STAPLES". 17 staples to be exact, on my ass. Then the doctor approached me with some creepy looking pliers and I braced myself for the worst. I totally watched him remove the staples, because I walk on the wild side. Much to my shock, it totally didn't hurt. Some of 'em stung a teensy bit, but that's nothing. Before I knew it, the 17 staples were gone and I got to take a real gander and my fancy new scar. It kinda looks like an idiot tried to steal my kidney but was off by several inches. The scar itself looked like it was about 5 inches long, vertical with a slight curve. Part of me thinks its gonna heal keloid but it's waaaaaaaaay to early to tell. I'm kinda tempted to get a flower tattoo using the scar as the stem. Admit, it would be awesomeeeeeeee. Just to freak some of y'all out... here's a picture of some of the staples.

I also gave my doctor the picture of Fanny with the google-y eyes. He got a kick out of it. It's a shame that most people don't draw faces on objects removed from their bodies, a cryin' shame.

I'm feelin' pretty good right now, I was FINALLY able to take a shower and FINALLY get rid of that leftover iodine. My scar feels kinda weird though... it's at that point where when it comes into contact with anything it's like "BAD TOUCH... oh wait... it's my skirt... never mind". Now I feel like I'm almost completely recovered. All I need is a few days to let my scar really heal, and I'm good to go!

Tomorrow is gonna be a super exciting day for Crippie, I'm hosting my Scentsy Open House Fundraiser. If any of my local readers wanna stop by, just message me for details! Maybe I'll see some of you guys there!

Crippie's Tippie - Check out my Scentsy Fundraiser y'all! 

BUDDIES!!!

Hi Everybody!

I hope all my readers are having a lovely week, and enjoying the awesome late summer/early fall weather. I haven't done anything special over the past two days but my recovery is progressing swimmingly. I am now able to practically walk unaided! Yup, you heard me right, I can walk a week and a day after hip surgery! I kinda need to hold on to wall or something sometimes, but still, I CAN WALK! The limp is hardly noticeable and it doesn't hurt at all. There is kinda a weird weak feeling in my hip, that's about it.

I cannot even begin to describe how blessed I am that my recovery is going the way it is. I've had my share of nightmarish recoveries. Up all night crying in pain, been there. Not being able to walk for year, done that. This recovery has been so freaking easy. My pain levels were a 3 AT THE WORST. I wasn't completely immobilized. I was able to sit down (I was slightly worried about that). It's been like a summer vacation with a little restricted mobility and staples in your butt!

I have to mention that this surgery has been completelyyyyyyyyy different than any other surgery I've had. Why? Because I've had so much support from my family and friends. I'm completely shocked at how many people wished me well on facebook, here, and in general. Friends told me to feel better (and sent sympathy cards). Some of my coworkers have even texted me get well wishes... how sweet is that! Even some of my relatives that had gotten "used to" my surgeries sent cards, many cards! I remember being 13 or 14, having a surgery and having so very people caring about me and how much that sucked. This is a complete 180 and it feels amazing!

Ain't it something how a little gesture like a card makes a difference? Now imagine what a slightly bigger gesture could do. Ya see the main reason I am hosting my Scentsy Fundraiser is to help kids who are about to walk in my shoes. The MHE Coalition does so many things for people with my disorder, one thing they do is send "Care Packages" to kids having surgery and their siblings. These packages are filled with toys, candy, all kinds of goodies. What a fantastic way to show a kid that's going through a hard time that there are people out there who do care for them, and that everything will get better.

Now, Scentsy makes a product called "Scentsy Buddies" which are stuffed animals filled with a selected scent. These guys are soft, cuddly, adorable, and soothing. They would make for a terrific addition to the care packages. I would absolutely love to buy a bunch of Scentsy Buddies and send them to kids all across the country who are recovering from surgeries. Do you want to help? You can donate a Scentsy Buddy too! How? Just contact me at crippies_corner@yahoo.com or kthayer.scentrep@gmail.com for information. You can even choose which animal and scent you want to send, or you can just leave it up to Crippie!

There's a super amazing special going on now that if you buy one Buddy YOU GET ONE FREE! We can double the amount of children we help for nothing! C'mon comrades WE CAN DO THIS!

Crippie's Tippie - If you know someone that's going through a tough time, let 'em know that you care. It means a helluva lot.

Out And About

Aloha!

I sincerely hope that none of my readers had a case of the Mondays today. My Monday was certainly not dreary.

Let's start off by saying that I've pretty much been in my room for a week. I was starting to feel a little bit like this...

But today I was finally well enough to get out of the house! YAY CRIPPIE! I ventured out and ran some errands with my mom. We obtained a new heat pack to replace my beloved NPH. I have decided to name this one Daniel Radcliffe, because... well... he's yummy. The journey to get the heat pack was a rather small one and I was kinda sore afterwards, but our next destination was to get food for the pets and the thought of seeing some piggies perked me up. So off to the pet store we went. Oh my lawd did they have some cuties! I finally got to see a texel (curly haired pig) in the fur. Holy crap was it adorable!

It was hard to get a good shot of it because of the cage, but you can see the walking wig. It's also hard to tell in this photo but this piggie is being stored in an insanely small cage with horrible bedding, no hay, and crap pellets. My local petsmart treats their pigs better than this (THATS SAYING SOMETHING)! It's disgusting, utterly disgusting. I'm tempted to go back one day and tell the owner to use some damn carefresh at least. On the bright side, all of the pigs are in separate cages so at least there won't be any accidental babies. If any of my local readers go to this local pet shop (email me if you want to be sure of which one) mention to the owner that the pigs, rats, hamsters, bunnies, gerbils, etc need better bedding. This my friends is why I strongly advise against buying a pet from a pet store.

Apart from that general anger towards the pet store, my outing was very successful. I got a heat pack and the dogs got some food (I don't buy products for the piggies there, because, well, they suck), I got to see some insanely cute pigs, not to mention I was not in my bedroom for the entire day. It's funny, to a lot of people this day could have been ordinary, even lackluster. But for me it was pretty exciting. Even if I wasn't recovering from surgery a venture to the pet store would have made for a fun day. Me thinks this could mean something negative about my life, but I'm gonna take this as I good thing (SHOCKER). I see the good in the mundane (and potentially negative) aspects of life. I figure this is the life I've got... so I might as well enjoy it.

Crippie's Tippie - Don't let negative situations overtake the positive ones

Such A Card!

Ohaiiiiiiiii

Glad to see that you guys enjoyed Fanny's picture as much as I did. As soon as I saw it I thought "LOL MY TUMOR LOOKS LIKE AN ANIMAL".

I'm definitely starting to feel better. I was able to move around a little easier, which is good because I was starting to get a little stir crazy just being in my room for the past few days. Tomorrow I'm going to run some errands with my mom, I cannot even begin to tell you guys how much I am looking forward to getting dressed and getting the hell out of the house. I also started eating normal things today. My tummy did not like that... but that was probably a blessing in disguise if you catch my drift.

On a sad note, my heat pack NPH died today. It just stopped working all of the sudden, I don't know what happened! I wanted to memorialize it on twitter but I had a feeling #RIPNPH wouldn't go over well. Definitely do not want to be responsible for killing Neil Patrick Harris via twitter! Maybe I'll obtain a new one tomorrow.

Today I wanted to share with y'all one of my totally awesome get well cards! This one comes from my friend who is so generously hosting a Scentsy Fundraiser at my house on Saturday! Gotta love friends with a twisted sense of humor :D

             

Ain't that a purdy card? This card is awesome for several reasons. First, it's really pretty and I appreciate the good design. Second, RIP Fanny... claaasssssiiiiiiccccc. Third, IT SMELLS LIKE FABRIC SOFTENER! It's a totally unique "Sincerely Scent" card from Scentsy! From a graphic designer's perspective these things are amazing. They're customizable, original, and fabulousssssssssssss! You can learn more about them HERE! 

Crippie's Tippie - Don't kill celebrities on twitter, and spread the word about my Scentsy Fundraiser! 

On The Mend

Hey Y'all

Thank you guys soooooooooooo much for all the wonderful get well wishes, they are very much appreciated.

Sorry I haven't been up to posting, I was rather heavy-headed until most of the anesthesia was out of my system. All things considered though this has been one of my easiest recoveries to date. Here's how everything's been going...
-The pain has been practically non-existant, a little sore at times, but nothing compared to a Fanny flare-up
-I think I've eaten my weight in bread and butter
-Spoonfuls of honey were useful when my throat hurt
-Helen has been protecting me from everything she deems evil
-I've received a bunch of awesome cards... I've gotta share some of the best ones with y'all
-The staples used to seal the wound ache sometimes
-I can bare some weight on my leg :)

I also asked for pictures of Fanny since she was a unique little mofo, and without further ado I present them to you guys... LADIES AND GENTLEMEN I GIVE YOU FANNY!!!!! If you have a weak stomach and or no sense of humor, look away.

Why yes I draw google-y eyes on pictures of tumors, THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT!  Now that I'm feeling better I should be able to get back to blogging regularly :)

Crippie's Tippie - Drawing faces on your tumors is an excellent way to freak people out

Bye Bye Fanny!

Yo!

It's Crippie in the flesh, tellin' y'all that my surgery was successful. Fanny the Ass tumor has been removed and I was home by four! I can put some weight on my leg so moving around and getting up the stairs was a breeze. As far as the pain goes, on a scale of 1-10 I'd probably say I'm a 2. It feels so weird not having a massive tumor on my butt!

As far as the nerves went, I did get the shakes while I was in the hospital and I threw up just as they were wheeling me into the OR. While that wasn't particularly fun it was better than surgeries prior. I was promised super happy fun drugs early on, buuuuuutttttt that didn't happen. I had a little "discussion" with some of the nurses on how it makes no sense to give me super happy fun drugs moments before knocking me out. They said I needed to be coherent when discussing things with all the doctors and nurses, boo. I really could have used those happy drugs.

One funny story today... when I was checking in the receptionist was going over my info, the following convo occurred...

Lady - Name?
Me - Nicole
Lady - Birthday?
Me - December 4th
Lady - And Russian is your primary language, right?
Me - 0.o um... noooooooooooooooo
Lady - Good thing I asked, we were gonna set up a Russian translator for you
Me - 0.o
Lady - That explains you lack of accent I guess
Me - Da

Now I have a question for my crippled comrades. My doctor closed the incision with staples, I've never had staples before. Do they hurt, tighten or itch while I'm healing? Are they a bitch to remove?

Well I guess that's it for tonight, I'll try to blog again tomorrow. I also have some pictures of Fanny... maybe I'll post 'em!

Crippie's Tippie - If you know you're gonna get sick, keep a basin by you at ALL times in the hospital 

Take A Load Off Fanny!

I've been waiting for foreeeevvvvveeerrrrrrr to use that line!

TODAY IS THE DAY FOLKS! Fanny's departure will take place in less than 12 hours! I have passed the dreaded midnight deadline and gotten all my crap ready. Now for the big question... am I nervous?

Not really, no. I'm doing rather well actually. Usually I start getting the chills and shaking violently at this point. While I'm not looking forward to today AT ALL... I'm not really nervous. We had a little discussion with the nurses at the hospital today and we mentioned that I tend to get violently ill before surgery, and I haven't been able to get happy meds in a timely fashion. The nurses said that they can get me my happy meds sooner! Definitely made me less anxious about everything. I've got my special anti-nausea patch so hopefully that paired with my lack-off nerves will mean that maybe I won't hurl before surgery... that would be sooooooooooo lovely.

Fanny is scheduled to be removed at 9. I have to be at the hospital around 7:30 or so, which means I have to leave the house at 5:15 in the morning... funness. If all goes well I should be home later today. I'll try to keep y'all updated either through my facebook page, twitter, and eventually here. If I'm not feeling up to blogging tomorrow I'll ask a relative to update y'all :)

I just want to take a moment to thank all you guys for supporting me for the past couple of months with this whole Fanny saga, I reaaaaaalllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyy appreciate it :)

Crippie's Tippie - When the hospital calls you in the days prior to your surgery, be vocal about all your concerns... they can probably make everything easier for you :)

Occupy Crippie

Yo!

L'shana Tova to all my Jewish readers out there!

Alrighty, Fanny meets her demise the day after tomorrow. I might be a teensy bit nervous. My tummy was a little upset today, one of the signs that I'm kinda nervous. That being said, I'm still very much looking forward to this surgery. Fanny has been killing me the past few days, the pain in my hip has traveled up my back... boo. I am really not looking forward to Tuesday, I know it is going to suck sooooooooooooo much. But this time next week I'll be on the mend. I just have to keep reminding myself that it will be over before I know it.

In terms of final preparations, I just finished pimping out my polio crutches (pictures tomorrow), and I STRAIGHTENED MY HAIR!!! My unruly mane got an at home keratin treatment because my hair is a bitch and a half to maintain, straightening it makes it easier to take care off. I came to realization that I look like I'm 16 when my hair is straight like it. Luckily it got a little wavy overnight, so it looks better now (another picture tomorrow I reckon).

The pre-surgery jitters were kept at bay today by the theatre! I went to see an incredible production of "The Sound of Music" with the family. "The Sound of Music" is without a doubt my favorite Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, and "Edelweiss" is probably my favorite show tune. It's absolutely haunting, especially considering it is the last song Oscar Hammerstein wrote.



Surprisingly this was the first time I'd ever seen "The Sound of Music" on stage. Boy howdy was it marvelous. The production was astounding, it's in a black box theatre, so the space is crazy limited. Yet they were able to craft fantastic sets and they still managed to make the theatre seem huge. The actors were terrific, I absolutely loved Maria and Mother Abbess, and of course the children were freakin' adorable. The only problem is that I can't get "The Lonely Goatherd" out of my head. The piggies seem to enjoy it when I whistle it though.

Crippie's Tippie - All my local readers should check out Just Off Broadway's production of "The Sound of Music" in Newburgh 

NOMS!

Ohai Y'all

Hope you guys had a super fantastic Friday! I spent Thursday and today working and further bracing for surgery. Yesterday I started to makeover my crutches (pictures soon) and today I got my disability forms and I formulated my post-op grocery list.

After surgery I'm usually sick to my stomach and I lose my appetite for about 3-4 days. What food I do eat is usually on the bland side. I figured I'd share my list with y'all... maybe it'll be useful to someone

1) Ice Pops - If I need to be intubated during surgery, my throat will hurt like a mofo for a few days. Ice Pops (or Italian Ices) definitely help sooth a sore throat. Unfortunately ice cream is too heavy to do any service here :(

2) Ginger Ale - It has a tiny bit of flavor, and it helps with tummy issues... gotta love it

3) Coca-Cola - NOT PEPSI, Coke syrup helps with nausea

4) Bread & Butter - A classic "my tummy will kill me if I eat, but I have to eat" meal

5) Saltines - The classic "I think I'm gonna hurl I need to eat something" cracker

6) Turkey - When my appetite starts to pick up, Turkey is bland enough to not upset anything

7) Cereal (I like Cheerios) - Great for when you want a little nosh

That's about it there, do you guys have any post-op noms you wanna share?

Fanny will be removed in about 4 days, and I'm still not nervous. It's probably because I've been occupied with work, and said work has been really enjoyable. Keeping busy definitely helps the nerves. I'll be veeerrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyy busy on Monday so hopefully that'll keep the jitters at bay. If not, Monday night I'll take a handy dandy valium and that should do the trick! I have some potential plans to keep busy this weekend, gonna try and get out of the house for as long as possible... cause I'm pretty much gonna be spending the next 3 weeks at home.

I need to start coming up with things to do while I'm stuck in the house. Can any of you guys recommend and good movies or TV shows to watch? I have just been informed that the best show of the 90's "Dinosaurs" is on Netflix in it's entirety, that should take up a few days ;) The main thing I'll be doing is spreading the word about my Scentsy Fundraiser. If you guys could pretty please spread the word with me it would mean a lot :) You can now grab the button for the fundraiser and put it on your own blogs! (again, if anyone has a charity they want me to promote, hit me up)

A word to my local readers, I will be having a physical scentsy party on September 29th. Email me if y'all would like some info on that!

Well, that's about it for tonight, have a great weekend everybody!

Crippie's Tippie - Never underestimate the power of a glass of ginger ale and some crackers for an upset tummy

Oh Have A Heart

Yo!

Happy Wednesday everybody, hope it was a good one. My day was certainly eventful to say the least. Today was pre-op day. Usually my pre-ops are a breeze, a quick exam with relatively quick clearance. Alas, wasn't so simple this time around.

It appears that my heart is kinda special. Ya see, there have been times after surgery where my heart rate has either been high or irregular. It wasn't a huge deal or anything, I was just kept in the recovery room for a little while longer. When Pointy was removed my heart started racing while I was in recovery. A nurse woke me up to tell me this. I don't remember exactly what I said to her, but it was something along the lines of "that's great... NOW LET ME SLEEP". Ultimately my heart goes back to normal and I'm on my merry little way. I tell my doctors about it, but I really don't think anything of it.

Well, today I mentioned to my doctor that my heart will occasionally spazz out during recovery. The doctor did a quick examination and discovered that my heart is on the fast side... grrrrreeeeeeaaaaaaaatttttttttttt. At this point he makes me have an EKG and more blood work done to rule out a thyroid issue... super dooper. The EKG also said my heart was fast. I was starting to get nervous, I thought I wasn't going to get clearance. My mind was probably racing faster than my heart at that point (and if anyone is wondering, I don't feel my heart racing or anything, I had no idea my heart rate was high).

Fiiiinnnnnnaaaaaalllllllllyyyyyyy the doctor came back in and gave me my clearance... HALLELUJAH! BUT he's still concerned about my heart. I need to take some heart medicine before and after the surgery to slow it down a little, I'm also gonna need to have an echocardiogram one of these days. Funness. So yeah, definitely a whirlwind appointment, but I got my clearance for surgery. That's all that matters.

So, factoring in the potential heart problems, am I nervous yet? Meh. I doubt that there's anything "wrong" with my heart per say, I think it's just quirky. My dad is the same way. I'm kinda glad that my doctor is gonna try to fix the quirks for surgery sake. Hopefully the medicine will prevent any nurses from waking me up in the middle of my nap this time!

Crippie's Tippie - Tell your doctors about your little "quirks", they kinda need to know about 'em

I Vant to Take Your Blood!

Mwahahahaha

We're inching ever closer to the one week point peoples! Fanny is starting to feel the pressure, she was hurting like a bitch today.

I started the whole pre-op process today with the ever traditional ceremony of the taking of the blood. Usually my veins cooperate with the lovely technicians but I've had times where either the person sucked (lol vampire pun) or my veins were being stupid. The person who took my blood did a good job  and I hardly felt it. Although the main reason I didn't feel anything was because I was rather distracted. Ya see, the room I was in was completely plastered in pictures of kittehs. Being the internet female that I am I just kept thinking of how hilarious kittehs were (and one of said kittehs looked like one of my biggest fans Mario). I was completely mesmerized with kittehs and the blood was taken before I even knew it. So thank you internet, you made that whole experience very much bearable. My arm was kinda sore for about an hour or so after and I hardly bruised... all in all... not bad.

Since Fanny's removal is inching closer and closer, I'm starting the final preparations... tons of practice on the stairs, crutches around the house, filing for disability, making sure the piggies are content, make sure meds are in order, and a tiny bit of grocery shopping (I'll get into that when we actually do it).

My actual pre-ops are scheduled for Wednesday morning, usually at this point I get a teeeeeeennyyy bit nervous. My appetite starts to decrease and all those sorta fun things. I haven't noticed any symptoms of anxiety yet :D We'll see what the rest of the week brings, I wouldn't be surprised if I royally jinxed myself with all this "I'M NOT NERVOUS LOL" speak. Alas, only time will tell.

On a completely random note, everyone in my house was watching "The Voice" tonight. Helen was facing the TV and she appeared to be "watching" it. All of the sudden they mention "TONIGHT IS THE START OF THE BLIND AUDITIONS" and Helen starts barking like a mad woman. Helen is just easily offended I guess, either that or she hates Carson Daily (distinct possibility there).

Crippie's Tippie - If you have pets, make sure that someone will be able to take care of your pets, and that you have enough supplies to keep them happy.

The Ballad of Helen

Salutations Everybody!

I hope all of my lovely readers had a fabulous weekend, chances are though Helen probably had the best weekend out of all of us. Saturday was the anniversary of Helen joining our family, thus she got spoils.

Helen started her life as a normal lil' Shih Tzu. She adopted by a family with small children and a big dog. For reasons unknown to me, Helen lost her sight when she was young. Allegedly she either whacked a wall reaaaaaaallllllyyyyyyyyyyy hard or fell off a bed. I wouldn't be surprised if an "accident" with the small children or big dog occurred. Either way her retinas wound up becoming detached. Helen was no longer an independent little puppy. She was scared and needed a lot of help finding her way around. Special needs puppies and young families don't quite mix. Helen spent most of her days in a bedroom all by herself. Eventually her family realized that they couldn't take care of her and handed Helen over to a rescue.

Flash forward to us finding out about a blind dog who needs to be held near constantly. After talking it over with the woman who had rescued Helen we opted to take a chance on the crippled puppy. We had to meet her. Hurricane Irene had just passed through and left the area with a good amount of flooding, but that didn't stop us from driving through it! We were slightly hesitant about adopting a blind dog, mainly because people kept telling us that blind dogs are vicious. As soon as we met Helen we knew she wasn't vicious. She would let anybody pick her up. We did notice that she was rather underweight, we could see her spine and ribcage. We have an excellent track record of plumping up underweight animals so that didn't bother us a bit. We knew she was perfect for our family.

Flash forward again and it's been a year since we made that decision, and we never second-guessed it. Helen blends in with our family perfectly. She gets oodles of love and attention from all of her humans. Angel is a doting big sister, she makes sure Helen stays the hell away from stairs. Helen makes for an excellent security system, she thinks that everyone who enters the house will kill her humans. She also barks at certain people on the TV, mainly anyone from The Jersey Shore.

We celebrated her anniversary by giving her ALL TIME favorite food... macaroni and cheese (small amount). She got to sit and the table with us and chow down while we sang happy birthday. Her big sister got some pieces of turkey so she was also insanely happy.

So heres to our little Helen Keller, may we have many more anniversaries!

Crippie's Tippie - If you want a pet... ADOPT

Helen's Tippie - Cheese is the bestest food EVER

Use the Stairs LIKE A BOSS

Ohai Everyone!

I hope y'all had a tremendous Thursday and a freakin' awesome Friday. My day went pretty damn well. I had the day off from work today so I got to hang out with some family friends who were in town. That alone would have made for a fun day, BUT it gets better. Ya see... I forgot that one of said friends was a physical therapist. Silly Crippie. We asked her about the whole stair situation because that was probably gonna be my biggest challenge coming home. Good thing we asked her how to do it because boooooooooooooyyy was method of getting up the stairs wrong. It turns out that when you cannot put any weight on your leg, the best way to get up the stairs is backwards. Yup, you heard me, backwards!

The new and improved plan of getting me up the stairs is simple... basically I grab on to my double railings (WHICH EVERY HOUSE NEEDS) and jump up each step backwards. Someone needs to stand in front of me to spot me, but yeah, it's relatively easy. Not to mention jumping up the stairs backwards with one leg sounds totally badass! I feel like such a daredevil! Now I have 10 days to make sure my arms are strong enough for this feat of awesomeness.

Today we also took Angel and Helen to the vet for a post-op check if you will. Angel had a pretty good time, she got to go in the car, smell some awesome new dogs, play with some of said dogs, and she didn't try to kill the vet! Helen on the other was not as pleased the outing, once she realized where she was the whole "DO NOT WANT" mentality kicked and she freaked out a bit. She felt better after her 30 second (no exaggeration) check-up. Speaking of Helen tomorrow is her 1 year adoption anniversary!  It's hard to believe that little pipsqueak has been with us for an entire year. How are we gonna celebrate? With her favorite food of course! We gave Angel a hamburger for her birthday, but Helen is not the hugest fan of meats. Helen loves all things cheese. Heaven help you if you try to eat a string cheese near this dog, because she will try to kill you for it. So we are gonna celebrate by letting Helen have some cheesy products. Yes, we know that cheese is really not a great thing for dogs, but she has it in moderation.

And as promised... ANIMAL PICTURES TO MAKE UP FOR A SHORTER POST!

You know what would help me sleep... CHEEEEEESSSSSEEEEEEEEEE 

Angel and Helen sleeping

Sleeping Beauty

And representing the piggies... here's Frida being awake and cute

Crippie's Tippie - BEFRIEND A PHYSICAL THERAPIST!!! 

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! 

I'm Scentsy and Know It!

Happy September Everybody!

September is certainly going to be an exciting month for Crippie. I will be having my 11th surgery in 2 weeks and more importantly I'll be starting a (hopefully) huge Scentsy fundraiser for the MHE Coalition!

For those of you just joining us I was diagnosed with Multiple Hereditary Exostoses when I was one. It causes benign tumors to grow on your bones. MHE causes pain, restricted mobility, and limb deformities. I have well over 100 tumors throughout my body and I live in constant pain.

The MHE Coalition is one of my favorite charities. It's a 501(c)3 organization that is committed to improving the quality of life for people living with MHE through support, information, and research. They even create "We Care Packages" which are packages filled with toys and other goodies for children who are having surgery and their siblings!

So what is this super awesome fundraiser for this super awesome charity? Crippie is having a Scentsy party! Yup, I'm teaming up with my BFF/Scentsy Rep to host the Scentsy party to end all scentsy parties. What is Scentsy? Scentsy is a basically a wickless, flameless candle... ONLY MORE AWESOME. For those of you who like to burn candles, these puppies are safe, ultimately cheaper than buying candles, AND they smell fantastic. For those of your who don't like to burn candles (like myself) they have oodles of other products like lotions, soaps, room sprays, etc.

Why Scentsy? Scentsy candles and products are awesome and very practical, especially for people with disabilities. Believe it or not I actually use Scentsy products to help ease my pain. Certain smells make me happy (like fabric softener... mmmm). Scentsy makes a product called "Travel Tins" which a scent in a portable little tin. You can get a little whiff of your scent whenever you need it. I have a travel tin that smells like fabric softener, whenever I'm in pain or just generally unhappy I open my tin and the smell helps relax and distract me. I actually plan on bringing my fabric softener tin to the hospital when I have my surgery. The smells of the hospital bother me greatly and make me very rather gloomy, so this will help lift my spirits... at least a little. If a little tin with fabric softener scent can do so much for me... I can only imagine what it can do for some of you!

So here's how this is gonna work. If any of y'all are interested in obtaining some kick-ass scentsy products just check out the badge for the fundraiser in the top right corner and shop away. 25% of the proceeds are donated to the MHE Coalition. If anyone has any questions about the products just hit me up at crippies_corner@yahoo.com or email my awesome Rep Friend at kthayer.scentrep@gmail.com I will also be hosting an actual party at my residence for my local readers, but I'll be posting details about that on a later day. This is a really great charity y'all, so let's make this happen! And can I get a HUUUUUUGGGEEEEEE shout out for my BFF/Scentsy Rep who will be donating the commissions she makes of these orders! THANKS KELSEY!!! YOU'RE FREAKING AWESOME!!!Crippie's Tippie - Spread the word about our awesome Scentsy Party!!!