A break from food...

Tonight's post is going to break from the food genre just a bit.....

Tonight, I will open up...bare my soul....and share with you all the joy that is Rabbie.

Rabbie is a stuffed rabbit (very original, I know) that I have had since I was somewhere around 4 years old. She was given to me by my mother's cousin as a gift for being the flower girl in her wedding. I remember opening up the big square box and pulling out a soft, white bunny with floppy ears. It was love at first hug!

Throughout my younger years, Rabbie was a constant friend - always willing to play dress up or have a tea party. At one point we even had matching nightgowns. We were tight.

As I got a little older, our tea parties became few and far between but Rabbie and I remained close. Throughout middle and high school, my brother and I would go spend every other weekend with our dad and Rabbie always made it into the overnight bag. She also made several trips to Pennsylvania and Kentucky to see the grandparents. It was somewhat of a running joke in the family that I would be taking Rabbie to college....but wouldn't you know it! She was destined for a higher education.

Rabbie and I made it through 4 years of undergrad together. She stuck by my side through 4 roomates and 3 suitemates, multiple boyfriends, exams and -finally!- graduation. She was somehow always the perfect size for a hug (despite the fact that I DID grow a little bit from age 4) and she never seemed to mind if I needed to cry a few tears into her floppy ears.

When I started grad school, I moved into an apartment and then into my very first little rental house. I also got my my very first little dog. One day, I needed to run out of the house for a few minutes and I left my little dog in the house alone. I had no fear, she was a good little dog and had never really gotten into anything before....however.....when I came home from my errands I opened my bedroom door and found this:

******CAUTION! GRAPIC IMAGES******

I took 4 deep breaths....quickly put my little dog outside and out of harm's way....and then crumpled on the floor and sobbed. And sobbed. And sobbed. What had happened to my oldest friend??? There were bits of fur everywhere...a piece of an eyeball in the corner...It was terrible.

I eventually picked Rabbie up and tried to clean her up, but it was no use. She had had a fatal injury. I could not bring myself to throw her away, so for the next 3 years she lived in a bin in my closet.

Last fall, I was browsing online and found The Fuzzy Repair Shop - AAAAAAHHHH!! This lady in Pennsylvania was a miracle worker! She had photographic proof of her handywork! I emailed her immediately and sent along pictures of Rabbie's tragic injury. She responded right away and said that she would see what she could do.....

Well here it is....1 month after I mailed my precious rabbit away for a face transplant....and - TA-DA!!!!

She is healed!!!!! My miracle worker was able to take her tail and use it for a face transplant! She even found new eyes and touched up her little nose!

And now I am a very happy, 28-year-old, stuffed animal-hugging girl!

Much Love,

Plain Nicole

and Rabbie