MonicaM

I saw what you did there. 🤣

I don't believe she only indulges for a couple of days. She doesn't seem to be aware that the enormous amount of weight she continues to carry on her frame is like a lie detector, and it points to LIES every time she tries to pretend she exercises with any regularity, or is mindful of her eating with any regularity. A person can lie and say they stopped smoking, and as long as you don't see or smell cigarettes around them, they can get by with the lie. Someone can claim they quit alcohol and as long as you don't see them drunk or catch a whiff of alcohol, they can get by with the lie. But food is a big tattletale because you can't hide the fact that you are just as heavy, or even heavier, than when you supposedly started on a diet and exercise routine. I hate liars, and Janelle is nothing but a big liar. Both literally and figuratively.

Maybe. But I think there's an equal chance that Jill hopes Nurie doesn't get pregnant until Jill has her own positive test. Since we know Jill is hoping to get pregnant again, it would most likely be torture for her to have to sit back and watch Nurie get all the attention, while Jill has a letdown every month. Even though she's had thirteen children, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if she feels she somehow knows the pain of infertility. 🙄

True fact - I can't stand those Hallmark movies, but my husband absolutely loves them. He has, at times, spent an evening watching Hallmark movies while wearing a bathrobe. Does this mean he loves me, even though I'm in a different room watching or doing something else? Or does it mean he doesn't love me because he's watching something I don't like? Or maybe I don't love him because I'm not in my bathrobe, glued to his side while we watch together? It's so confusing! 🤪 It does seem more than a little defensive for Joy to feel the need to post about how much her husband loves her. Really has the same feel as Jessa's "we're still madly in love" statement a while ago.

And she loves it. As long as she can pop out babies and make things look good on social media, she's a happy camper.

How about one without the smug smile? Maybe it's just me, but her expression in every one of those pictures looks smug and superior. Maybe that's her idea of an earth mother smile, but it looks like a smirk to me - as if reproducing somehow makes her superior.

I give no credence to divorce rumors. However, I also give no credence to Joy referring to her social media pages as proof she and Austin are living the dream. I know plenty of people who have beautiful lives on social media, but in real life, they are heavily in debt, the kids are out of control, and they suspect the spouse is cheating. I read someplace that social media is the "highlight reel" of the poster's life. I try to keep that in mind when I'm depressed about my current situation and my social media "friends" seem to be living picture perfect lives.

We normally get "I Voted" stickers, but this year, we were given pens that said "I Voted". You used the pen to fill out your ballot, and then kept the pen. At least in a year with a pandemic, I liked not having to use a pen that who knows how many people had touched. I don't live in Arkansas, but I do live in a state that has absolutely no state wide restrictions, so I'm always pleasantly surprised when I see anything that even slightly acknowledges the need to be more careful. I'm glad the Dillard's voted, and glad the actual post was politically neutral.

I just brought mine out a couple of days ago. There has been so much cr@p going on, both in my personal life and in the outside world, that I pretty much forgot I might have a way to relieve at least a little of the depression and anxiety that's overwhelming me most days. I've had it for a couple of years, and while I'm not totally convinced it helps, I can't say for certain it doesn't help either. What I really want is a magic wand to make everything all better!!

It's much more difficult to pass the collection plates in an outdoor setting.

🤢🤮

Nice that Jill doesn't let the fact that a church service is in progress keep her from turning her head around and taking pictures. I don't know how the members of the church feel about it, but I would be angry if she pulled that if I were sitting near her in church. First, it's distracting. Second, and perhaps most important, I HATE getting my picture taken and don't want to end up with my face posted on someone's social media account. I don't care if I'm in the background and not the focus, I don't want to be in your pictures. This should never be a concern in a church service. Whether or not she should have taken these pictures in church, she definitely should NOT have posted this unflattering shot on social media. It should have gone straight to the garbage bin. Nurie and Nathan both look very, well, SPECIAL.

I think she'll be allowed to play sports, but I hope she isn't pushed into it. She won't necessarily have the interest or aptitude for athletics just because her father did. Jer seems to be very concerned that his family reflects the image he wants to portray, and I can see him pushing all of his kids to be star athletes, whether it's what the child wants or not.

I didn't post often, but every single time I did, I got a warning.

Maybe now that she has access to more and better food, she's gained a little weight? She might be one of those people who put on abdominal weight before it shows any place else. That's where my initial weight gain always shows up first. If she is pregnant, I hope she gets to remain the only pregnant one in the family!

Looks to me like it says "The Steeple People" 199. Can't tell if that's a ladle, or some kind of racket, or a skeleton type key above it. I clearly need to get a life, because I googled "the steeple people" but only came up with ads for businesses that make steeples.

I don't necessarily disagree with much, if any of what you said. What makes me absolutely intolerably angry is that so many people are so willing to ignore science and believe rumors and conspiracy theories. People who wear masks are sheep! People who don't are lions! Are you a sheep or a lion? 🙄 I'm neither actually, I'm just someone who will wear a mask because it protects YOU. Two of my neighbors have seriously warned me that if there's a vaccine, no one should get it because it will have a tracer agent that will allow the government to track your every move. One of them is a records clerk at the local hospital, and the other is a receptionist in a medical office. Both bitterly complain that they have to wear masks and sometimes gloves at work. I'd like to think they keep their views quiet at work, but considering the prevailing attitude around here, they probably don't have to. I absolutely don't want people to live in fear, but please, be realistic. This has never been a hoax, and just because our local hospitals haven't been overrun with cases doesn't mean they won't be. I hope not, but acting as if life should go on for everyone as usual is dangerous.

Nice picture of Mariah with her great-grandmother. 🤣

A couple of days ago, our county health department released the latest local statics on Covid cases. We've had a rather alarming increase in positive tests, and our death toll is up. Of course the first ten or twelve comments were "Fake News!" and "The hospital gets paid for every positive test so of course the numbers are up", and so many people seem to know that most of the deaths weren't actually due to Covid. It's maddening, and around here, this kind of attitude is pervasive. Our state has no mask ordinance. Any store that requires mask wearing faces threats of boycott, so no one enforces it. We live in a beautiful area. We love our home and have spent many years making it as comfortable as possible. We also are most definitely not rich and it is in our best interest financially to stay here in our mortgage free home. However, right now I'm not sure I can continue to live in this community. The past four years, coupled with the virus, have brought out a negativity in so many people that we feel isolated even without the stay at home advice. On every forum I read, including this one, most of the contributors are in favor of masks and seem to be doing everything possible to avoid getting or spreading the virus. However, in my real life, I know very few people who see those precautions as anything but a conspiracy to take away their freedom. I'm not young. I'm in my early sixties, so I'm not super old either. However, the thought of living in this world for another twenty or so years is intolerable.

I've noticed that oversharing on social media and talking endlessly about your wonderful life and family is often a red flag. If you are truly happily married, there's no need to convince yourself or anyone else. She clearly loved her daughters, but she also used them as props to help portray the image she wanted to project to the world. I don't see anything wrong with acknowledging that although she was a victim of a terrible crime, she wasn't someone you'd necessarily admire. What's interesting in this case is that I found her unlikeable based on her own words and actions, not what anyone said about her. The other interesting/frightening aspect of this case is that apparently Chris managed to hide the fact that he was a monster for all of those years. No previous arrests, no apparent history of domestic violence, nothing to hint at the absolute horror that was to come. He clearly wasn't a good person with his financial problems and affairs, but plenty of people live beyond their means and cheat on their spouses without ever physically harming anyone. He actually seemed mostly laid back and bland. I made the mistake of watching this right before I went to bed, and I can't even to describe some of the nightmares it gave me! Chris is very fortunate that he lives in a civilized society, and is imprisoned in a system that is mandated to protect him.

I don't believe Jeremy is a business genius, but I do think his and Jinger's situation was much different than the others who married. The game plan with all the rest was that they would marry and live close to Ma and Pa, with housing and jobs(?) provided by Ma and Pa. At the time they married, Jeremy was living in Laredo, with no intentions of moving anywhere near the rest of the cult, I mean family. They may not have been the break-out stars they seem to think they are, but their storyline was a very important part of the show, and JB knew it. I seriously doubt TLC or the production company had any interest in negotiating directly with Jeremy, but I do think JB knew he had to make some serious concessions to keep them on the show. Unless Jinger or Jeremy go public at some point, we'll never know what kind of concessions he made, but it was clearly something that kept both parties working together.

My husband was in the hospital earlier this week. All the staff were wearing masks. However, the "hospitalist" doctor wore his mask UNDER HIS NOSE. We didn't see him often, but when he showed up, I literally couldn't take my eyes off his uncovered nose. Fortunately, his only role was to regulate my husband's regular meds, so he was always at least six feet away from both of us. If he had been in a position where he needed to do a physical examination, I would have quickly asked him to wear the mask properly. Anyway, I'm definitely not making excuses for anyone who doesn't wear a mask or wears it incorrectly, but if a medical professional such as a DOCTOR doesn't set a good example, I'm really not sure how to get "masks take away my freedom" dimwits to understand the importance.

We got some good news today. It looks as Mr. M won't need emergency surgery! He probably will have surgery at some point in the future, but a planned surgery is easier on both the surgeon and the patient, and has a better chance for a good outcome. He needs to have a colonoscopy in six weeks, so we'll know more after that. In the meantime, he is to spend those six weeks on a low fiber diet. He was also back to some semblance of sanity today. He told me that yesterday he was hallucinating/delusional that he was being held in a castle where "they" were performing experiments on him. No wonder he was combative, cursing, and verbally abusive. He'll probably spend another day or two at the hospital. He's been on a clear liquid diet, and they want to start giving him more foods to make sure he can keep them down. He also has to move his bowels to make sure everything is in working order. The people on this forum are the best!! My heart goes out to everyone having problems. Like everyone else, I wonder why some seem to live charmed lives with small troubles, while others of us seem to go from issue to issue. What makes that even worse, is that many of those people living a charmed life kind of look down on the rest of us as if they are superior because they do everything right, and clearly those of us in the trenches are doing everything wrong.

At the same time, he'll divorce his wife. Good luck getting money from him, Anna!!

I don't post a lot, but it's late and I can't sleep. My husband went into the hospital this morning with abdominal pain, and will be there at least a couple of days. The doctors are hoping the problem will get better with pain killers, fluids, and antibiotics. If not, then surgery will be required, and it will involve a colostomy. My husband has a neurological condition and I'm his caregiver. He needs to have his meds on time and they need to be right or he suffers. On his best day he's about 85% mentally. At the hospital, they managed to give him a painkiller that made him crazy. He didn't know the year, and when asked if he knew where he was, he answered, "Hell". He ripped out his IV, managed to tear off his wrist band, wouldn't stay in bed, but if he was put in a chair he wanted out of that. He was way too loopy and disoriented to take even a step on his own, yet all he wanted to do was get up, and he kept yelling, "Let me out!!!" He also got verbally abusive towards me and cursed like the most drunken sailor who ever cursed. Normally he is a very gentle person, much nicer than his wife. He really was in hell and by extension, so was I. He finally fell asleep, but I wanted to stay to make sure he got his night time meds, and to see if he was better after some sleep. I also wanted to be triple sure he didn't get any more of the drug that sent him off the rails. Nope. Visiting hours were over and the night nurse was super nasty with me. The day nurse had told me I could stay later, so I was startled when she commanded me to leave. The nurse was dismissive of my concerns about his meds and mental state. I was given a code to use if I wanted to call, and I left it at the hospital, so theoretically I can't even call to see how he's doing. Probably wouldn't anyway because the nurse was awful. She had just come on her shift, and I was startled at her attitude because the day shift staff had been mostly good. It was a very long, stressful day and I was tired and barely had anything to eat. Now I can't sleep and I don't know how I'm going to function and face the situation with no rest. Sorry this is long, I just needed to vent and it's too early to phone a friend. As soon as the office opens, I'm going to call his neurologist and see if she can at least help with making sure his meds are right and have to be given on time, every time.