Will you stop clowning around and do something!?

[Mad Hatter]

9 minutes ago, Jittersthe.Clown said:

Had a great weekend. Craft show that was super successful, movie night with my daughter, and dinner at my parents with all of my brothers and their families. Good times. I am about an hour and a half away from heading to the airport to fly to Kentucky for a trade show. It's good to get out and see customers and potentials, but I do end up a bit home sick while I'm away. For the greater good, right? 

Sounds like a great weekend!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder or something like that? As long as you don't sacrifice toooo much time with your family I wouldn't worry. And it looks to me like you're spending a lot of quality time with your family!  

[Jittersthe.Clown]

We do get good family time in. I am blessed in that regard. Spring break in 2019, we are going to Disney World. We were going to do a cruise, but we waited too long and couldn't get the right mix of rooms.Couple years, and we will get there. 

[LittleTurtle]

[Jittersthe.Clown]

Hi everyone!

 

I've been largely absent due to a great craft show month so far. I'm done for the season, but recovery always takes time. Lost too much sleep, but did great. Both Jitters Junior and Jitter Bug were helpful and sold a lot of their own pieces. Having helpers is fun. I'm way behind on my fitness, but getting back into it this week. Looking forward to the holidays. 

 

12 hours ago, LittleTurtle said:

 

And LittleTurtle gets bonus points for a NPH gif!

[LittleTurtle]

[Jittersthe.Clown]

Alright. The house is starting to look festive. My customers from work are sending in "Thanks for a great year" gifts and it's cold. I think without the snow, I just don't feel it. I will say this once; bring on the snow, Mother Nature! 

 

 

[Jittersthe.Clown]

I am currently at a bit of a loss. I am having a rare bad day.

 

We found out yesterday that a student at JJ's school passed away the night before. There was an "investigation team" of officers that were at the school. This tells me one of two things; either it was an OD or it was bullying that lead to suicide. Neither of which I am okay with. The kid was in 8th grade. From the parents I have spoken with who knew the family, they lean to the bullying. I just don't know for sure. JJ didn't know him, but is empathetic to the Nth degree and felt really sad last night. My first reaction to the news was that of anger. If it was suicide, how could an 8th grader feel this way that they thought this was their option? Where were the authorities involved if it was related to bullying? Why was this child not told that there are avenues to deal with bullying? If if was an OD, even an accidental one, how did they get access to something like that? It absolutely upset me. 

Then I thought of the possibilities. I thought of my words to everyone; be kind to each other. I hope this will be a chance to learn and to grow. I wish bullies could see the affects of their actions without this death having occurred, but that simply isn't reality. I had to have a very tough discussion with my 11 year old about suicide, depression, and drug use. He shouldn't have to worry about this. Not yet. I am having a hard time concentrating at work today. I will likely take off early to spend some time with the kids today. I can only think that this family is going to miss Christmas this year. Not like they should. They won't get a chance to see their child grow up to get their licence. They won't see them go to their prom. No first dates. No more birthdays. I am absolutely not okay with this behavior. It is absolutely unfair that a parent should ever have to bury a child. 

 

 

Please, for the love of all that is good in this world, be kind and compassionate to each other. To the educators, thank you for all that you go through with the youth on a daily basis. For the resource officers working in the schools, thank you for being kind in your work. To anyone who deals with children, thank you for helping them. 


UPDATE: It was suicide resulting from bullying. Please talk to your children about the effects of bullying. And please talk to them about what to do if they are being bullied. 

[Mad Hatter]

I am so sorry, that is truly awful. 

I don’t believe accidental ODing from recreational use is very common, if it was drugs it was almost certainly on purpose. But nobody should have to go through that much pain and as you said, there are many resources out there so it’s 100% unnecessary whatever the cause.

[Jittersthe.Clown]

A tough start to the weekend, but we did some good in the world at large and we talked about a lot of things. Got a lot of work done around the house. Gave some things away to help others. Went to a trampoline park and it kicked my butt pretty good. 

 

 My week is starting off well. It's Dec, so that means music!

 

Our Countdown to Christmas is an annual tradition for the 4 of us where we each pick 6 songs and we pull a playing card to determine which song will be played that evening. We watch the music video if they have one. Here's our first two songs:

 

Dec. 1st

 

Pizzazz picked this one. She is a big fan of most of what Pentatonix does. 

 

Dec. 2nd

 

This one was one of mine. I enjoy The Piano Guys and this was such a fun video. 

The countdown continues each night. I'll update most week days. Be good to each other

[Raxie]

Wow that is so tough, Jitters.  I'm sorry that happened and that it affected JJ so much and the school at large.  That is far too young to have to deal with stuff like that

 

Glad your week is starting off OK after all that though!

[Jittersthe.Clown]

Thanks, Raxie. I appreciate it.

 

Our third day of the Countdown:

 

I don't find myself to be overly religious, but the message at the end really hits me. Do kind things for others. 

[Jittersthe.Clown]

On the 4th day of the Countdown, my true love gave to me:

 

 

A fun medley of songs. From JJs list. 

 

Oh, I found some wrapping paper for this year. @Sloth the Enduring, I thought of you. I am so excited for this.

 

[Sloth the Enduring]

That’s cool. I’d be excited too. 

[Jittersthe.Clown]

And I am now way behind. Well, here's where we start to catch up. Day 5:

From JJ's list. 

 

 

[Jittersthe.Clown]

Day 6 was also from JJ's list:

This is a lot of fun.

 

[Jittersthe.Clown]

Day 7 of our Countdown to Christmas:

 

Jitter Bug has her list too. 

 

 

 

[Jittersthe.Clown]

Day 8! From Pizzazz's list:

 

 

 

Day 9 is also from Pizzazz's list. 

 

 

 

Day 10 is from JB's list and one of my new favorite versions of this song:

 

 

 

Day 11? Day 11. From my list because I love the Muppets:

 

 

 

And Day 12 was also from my list. This is my absolute favorite Christmas song. And also more Muppets:

 

 

Day 13 was my second to last song on my list. This is my second favorite Christmas song. Every Christmas, my nieces and nephews ask me to recite the story beforehand and we all sing the song. Did I mention how much I enjoy the Muppets?

 

 

[Jittersthe.Clown]

And I have tickets to see Garth Brooks in May. Woo!

[Guzzi]

[Jittersthe.Clown]

Time for a good old fashion Jitters Ramble. Strap in, y'all!

 

Craft show coming up next weekend. Am I prepared? Hell no. Will I be? No idea. I have a work trip mid next week and that's going to eat up a lot of my time for getting to the studio. It'll still be good. Jitters Junior will be joining me on this one. He's saving up to buy a snake, so he has a lot of pieces he's making up. 

I've been working out in the mornings, but with no real plan. I lift, I squat, I push, I jump rope, and I really do whatever comes to me each morning. It's helped a lot with the reduced eating I am going with. My intake is a lot less overall and it's more of the good stuff. I still have a bit of crap, but a lot less than normal. For a reference, I was about 260 in December. I am down to 230 as of mid March. My clothes are not fitting as well and I may need a new belt in the near future. All good problems to have. 

Since November, I have been dealing with tinnitus and, for someone who enjoys music, conversation, and quiet moments, it sucks. It's likely a great reason why the depression kicked my ass so hard this go around. I find meditation to be completely out of my abilities any longer and that was a huge way I combat it. I am worried that my work trip is going to be a lot of me asking my customers to repeat themselves because crowded/noisy areas like convention halls makes everything white noise unless they have a good lower register voice. Should be interesting. 

Trying to keep the depression at bay. Had a huge fall last month that built from the previous 6. I'm a little better every day. I have some great people checking in on me and for that, I will forever be grateful. 

[Mad Hatter]

45 minutes ago, Jittersthe.Clown said:

For a reference, I was about 260 in December. I am down to 230 as of mid March. My clothes are not fitting as well and I may need a new belt in the near future. All good problems to have. 

Well done!!

 

I'm really glad you're slowly feeling better and that you have a support system. Hugs!

[Jittersthe.Clown]

Thanks, Hatter. It's not always a straight or bright path, but it's mine and I wouldn't trade it for anything. 

[Guzzi]

1 hour ago, Jittersthe.Clown said:

Jitters Junior will be joining me on this one. He's saving up to buy a snake, so he has a lot of pieces he's making up. 

 

What species is he going to get?

 

[Jittersthe.Clown]

 

He's thinking Ball Python right now. 

[Guzzi]

Nice!  The only thing about them is that they can stop eating for months at a time which can be a little stressful for new keepers.  This can happen if their heat and humidity aren’t spot-on but even when things are right they can stop eating for months.  This is something that they would do in the wild during breeding season and some of them still do it in captivity.  It’s not something to worry about, it’s just annoying (and costly if you’re throwing away a mouse/rat every 2weeks).  They can slow their metabolism down so that they don’t lose much body mass.  We have a Bredl’s python that goes on hunger strike for 4-5 months every year without losing much weight.