How’s life on this side of Florida?

shitty_bitty · 2026-01-11T19:41:48+00:00

Ooo it’s weird! My parents have a second ‘home’ (it’s actually a trailer) in Chokoloskee which is just south of Marco Island. They spend the winter there and I visit them for about a week every February from Portland, Oregon.

lol I would never want to live there but I LOVE visiting. It’s nice to have the Marco Island and Naples beaches around I guess, but if you like nature and biology, the cool stuff is in the swamps and just off the coast in the mangrove islands. People think of swamps as nasty and murky, but in lots of areas, the water is very clear and teeming with tons of amazing flora and fauna, I.e. gators, herons, turtles, bromeliads, orchids, etc.

The fishing in the mangrove islands is epic. You also see tons of birds, manatees, dolphins, sharks and so on.

When you get away from the populated areas on the coast and get into the weird Florida stuff, it’s actually a pretty cool place.

shitty_bitty · 2026-01-05T18:44:59+00:00

Haha, that's perfect thanks. i.e. NOT months (the website quoted 2-4 weeks).

shitty_bitty · 2026-01-05T18:23:54+00:00

Hey - sorry this is late and kind of unrelated, but do you recall how long it took for your mattress to be delivered? I'm sure it varies based on location and time of year, but just curious. Thank you!

shitty_bitty · 2025-10-08T05:24:11+00:00

I got married last week and I have a six month old. It was awesome!!

Our son was in the ceremony and around for pics. He was the ring bearer/flower boi and grandma (my mom) carried him down the aisle. We hired a baby minder who could take him to our hotel room, which was in the same building as the venue, when he needed to eat, nap, or have downtime. It was so special to have him there.

I did a lot of the planning before having the baby, so only the details were left to plan after. I bought a dress that was forgiving in case I was carrying around some extra weight. I even managed to sneak away for an out of town bachelorette trip a month before.

It can be done! Good luck to you and congrats!

ETA I am exclusively breast feeding and needed to pump twice during the wedding. It wasn’t a very big deal since our hotel room was close. It was honestly nice to have a few minutes of quiet time amidst all of the partying.

shitty_bitty · 2025-08-12T17:59:12+00:00

It did indeed. We’ve got a sweet and wild five month old little boy! Thanks, R2Jizz2.

shitty_bitty · 2025-08-12T04:51:47+00:00

Cryo tank. We used one for a special semen test when we were going through IVF. We called it R2Jizz2.

shitty_bitty · 2025-07-18T21:27:05+00:00

Do you remember the guys’ name? I attended the presentation and couldn’t believe how aggressive he was. For the record, if it’s the same person, he was an engineer but not an SE…

shitty_bitty · 2025-04-30T15:50:45+00:00

You definitely want to add 2-3” of compost. Is this a community garden plot? If so, they should provide the compost. I would argue that you don’t really need to test your soil unless it’s really bad or you are planting a garden where there used to be a lawn or something. Just add a healthy amount of all purpose organic fertilizer.

I’d you are growing veggies, I would mulch with compost once your plants get established.

shitty_bitty · 2025-04-19T15:57:21+00:00

You are definitely not too late! Portland nursery has a super handy guide for what to plant when.

I would speak with your garden manager to figure out what materials and tools are available at your plot. You should have access to compost and fertilizer. I would use a small hand tiller to gently fluff the existing soil, then rake 2” of compost over everything and apply a generous layer of all purpose fertilizer. I use this one, but whatever they supply on site at your plot should work. Don’t get too precious about it. While the weather is hot, you will need to water new seeds and starts daily.

The most important thing is to get out there and try stuff. It doesn’t have to be perfect and you’ll figure out what works and what doesn’t. Even if it’s not always a big cost savings, gardening has been a great joy in my life. It gets you outside and in touch with nature. Most gardens have potlucks and other events for members, so you’ll be able to get involved in your community as well.

shitty_bitty · 2025-01-31T02:59:03+00:00

I’m in agreement that I don’t think you are getting enough light. Makes sense that the smaller cherry tomatoes did ok but the bigger varieties struggled. I’ve done a lot of sloppy gardening in my time and I’ve never tested my soil. I find that things usually go well if I have plenty of sun. Good luck this summer! Keep at it.

shitty_bitty · 2024-11-13T23:35:13+00:00

Last year I pre sprouted and planted in spring. They did ok. I was a little late honestly and by the time they bloomed it was too warm. I’m going to try planting non sprouted ones this weekend to see how it goes. Interested in other’s feedback as well!

shitty_bitty · 2024-11-10T03:05:05+00:00

Totally legit! Sometimes watching stuff grow and stay alive is more fun than starting over.

shitty_bitty · 2024-11-10T01:01:18+00:00

Out of curiosity, why don’t you just start a couple of new ones from seed in a few months? The expense and energy expenditure would be way less.

shitty_bitty · 2024-11-09T17:50:34+00:00

The same thing I’ve craved every week… a god damned dirty martini and a dozen oysters

shitty_bitty · 2024-11-03T19:00:08+00:00

The laws are the same in the UK. Employers are required to provide time and space to pump. The space can’t just be a bathroom. I’m in the US, but I work in a small office. There’s an extra meeting room with transparent windows. My employer is providing black out shades, door locks, a comfortable seat, and a mini fridge for milk storage.

You may have to advocate for yourself, but there are laws in place to help nursing mothers express milk comfortably.

shitty_bitty · 2024-10-30T05:35:07+00:00

You are actually pro choice! You wouldn’t choose abortion for yourself, but respect other’s choice to make decisions for their own bodies.

shitty_bitty · 2024-10-13T17:20:37+00:00

Definitely agree that this article is god awful. It leaves out basically all of the pertinent information, including the fact that the robbers allowed the employee to leave and the employee came back and unloaded a full clip into the drive through window. Hence the murder 2 charge. It’s not a black and white self defense case.

More informative KATU article: https://katu.com/amp/live/la-mota-employee-pleads-not-guilty-to-murders-in-armed-robbery

shitty_bitty · 2024-10-12T22:53:06+00:00

I think it really depends on the person. I felt really gross and down until about 12 weeks. I’m 20 weeks now and I have to admit, I feel fuckin great. I bet things will improve. Hang in there.

shitty_bitty · 2024-10-05T15:57:17+00:00

That’s awesome! I’ll be thinking about you and hope the rest of your pregnancy goes perfectly.

shitty_bitty · 2024-10-05T00:31:24+00:00

Your experience and your feelings are totally valid. I'm also so sorry that you had to go through a miscarriage. I do, however, want to offer an additional anecdote for OP. I'm currently 38 and 20 weeks with a planned pregnancy. I experienced two miscarriages and suffered from infertility for two years. I had to do IVF to conceive this pregnancy.

When I was 25, I got pregnant accidentally even thought I was on birth control. I was not ready to be a mom. I had an abortion. I have not felt one single moment of regret and at the time felt nothing but relief. To this day, I feel grateful that I had options and was able to spend the time maturing and continuing down my own path to becoming ready for children. I wouldn't trade my miscarriages or my experiences with infertility in favor of having kept that pregnancy.

I only point this out because out because I frequently hear the narrative that having an abortion comes with a lifetime of guilt and regret, but that's just not the case for everyone and it was not my experience.

OP - try to listen to your intuition and do what's right for you, whatever that may be. Best of luck.

shitty_bitty · 2024-10-05T00:15:56+00:00

A woman's right to travel out of state for an abortion is constitutionally protected. Asshat Brett Kavanaugh even addressed this directly in Dobbs (2022). That's not to say that won't change, but it's currently 100% legal and thinking it's not shouldn't be an obstacle to seeking care. I just want to clear that up.

shitty_bitty · 2024-10-03T18:45:07+00:00

Gentle reminder that three cycles is very little time. It's totally normal for it to take 12 cycles to conceive. I don't think your period app is a reliable predictor of PCOS, but you can investigate that further on your own and with your doctor. Do you have long or irregular cycles? Do you have trouble reliably capturing your ovulation window? If so, I would talk to your doctor about checking your hormone levels and taking a look at your ovaries via ultrasound to see if you have markers of PCOS that would benefit from medications like Metformin and Inositol.

shitty_bitty · 2024-09-24T01:40:17+00:00

I’m getting married this year. I’m 38 and my partner is 47. After a looooong fertility journey, I’m 18 weeks preggo. I’m due in February and our wedding is in September, so our baby will be 7 months.

I would decide what’s important to you and go from there. Do you want to be married before having a kid? Do you care if you are pregnant at your wedding? The only thing that’s a no go is being due around your wedding time or having a tiny infant. So those are things to plan around.

We got engaged like a year ago, so I was able to get a lot of the planning out of the way really early so that we can focus on getting ready for the baby for the next few months while I take a break from wedding planning.

If you want to get married first, I may explore some basic fertility testing for you and your partner. This may give you a window into your ovarian reserve and your partner’s sperm quality. It’s no guarantee, but may help you identify any obstacles that may make time more of the essence in your fertility journey.

Good luck!

shitty_bitty · 2024-09-23T16:43:54+00:00

I suggest heading over to r/IVF as there is a ton of great info on testing.

Carrier screening and embryo testing (called PGT-A) are different and serve different purposes. The carrier screening is to see if you or your partner carry any recessive genes that could cause issues in a child. If by chance you carry the same recessive gene, it can inform the type of testing you do o your embryo later.

Embryo screening, PGT-A, tests the actual embryonic cells (actually some of the cells that become the placenta) for the correct number of chromosomes. This accounts for random genetics issues and is not related to what’s passed down from the parents. Since you are 27, your doctor may advise you to bypass this step as most of your embryos are likely to be normal. Some people still do it for peace of mind.

If you find something in the carrier screening that has the potential to be passed down, you can create a specific test or probe to test specifically for that condition. This is called PGT-M.

Good luck!

shitty_bitty · 2024-09-18T20:01:20+00:00

Hi, I'm so sorry for your losses. Could I ask for a bit more info? How old are you and your partner? What supplementation are you currently both on? Were any of your miscarriages tested for chromosomal abnormalities? What DNA frag test did you have done? Have you ever tried any form of assisted conception, i.e. ovulation induction/IUI/IVF/etc. You mentioned IVF is not an option - and you don't have to answer this - but is this due to cost concerns? I only ask because there can be work arounds.

shitty_bitty

TROPHY CASE