IntoTheMystic

I just started watching this trainwreck again after abandoning it for years. After seeing the new premiere, I went back a couple of episodes to see if I missed anything. I didn't. It's gotten even worse than it used to be. The foot smelling alone was horrendous as hell. How can Discovery not realize that if THAT is the content this family brings ... maybe they shouldn't have a show? I feel like Snowbird is a little slow. She seems eternally twelve years old instead of being twenty four. Rain seems more mature than her at times. Gabe's speaking voice is awful. The braces have made him sound like he had a stroke. Why why why do all of them have so much vocal fry at times? Sometimes they vocal fry and sometimes they don't. It sounds horrible. And all of the kids do it but not the parents.

It was so nice to see Dr. Now being funny a couple of times. He seemed to click with Brandon and it was nice to see that side of him. I think he genuinely does care about his patients and that was evident in this episode. Anyone who wouldn't retire completely after Steven MUST care for his other patients. 😋 That nurse might be the most aloof and cold person I've ever seen on reality television. I don't think I care for her at all and that's sad considering she's barely ever spoken. She's always had a resting bitch face and on this episode, she revealed that she is severely lacking a bedside manner to go with it. Maybe she regrets her career choice or dislikes overweight people, I dunno. I've read speculation over the years that she is related to Dr. Now. Does anyone know if that's true?

AGH! I miss everything. When/which episode did Tasha say they took her mattress because she wasn't using it and that she was in the apartment first and took her dad in because he was homeless? I MUST get it on that and see it. I usually pay such close attention. I can't believe I missed it. I just went and watched all of Tasha in this one, the last one, and the one before. I can't find it anywhere. Anyone know which episode it's in? I want to make a .gif of her stating that in the episode so I will have it handy should Eric ever deny it was said by his own daughter. Taking her mattress and kicking her out ... that's so wrong on so many levels.

Which part of the episode does Tasha talk about taking her dad in when he was homeless? I must have missed it. I was so mad after Leida's abhorrent behavior towards that poor girl that I missed a lot of what she said when it was just her and the camera? Was it beside the truck after she improperly threw her suitcase in the back? I am so confused. I keep seeing people reference Leida's Whipping Boy previously being homeless, but I can't find that part in the episode. Did Eric tell Leida he used to be homeless? Did Tasha tell her? Gah, I can't find it anywhere in the episode(s).

My entire post has disappeared. Does anyone see it? I was really proud of it. Especially my thoughts on Leida and Debbie and Coltee.

I have felt like Jill might be a little developmentally delayed since the earliest times of the 2, 5, 9, 13, 15, 19, 812 Kids and Counting series. She's always seemed very very very immature to me. As if her intellectual growth stopped and she will forever be a 13-year-old. That episode in 2009 where she was getting her wisdom teeth out really drove it home. She was at least 18 or 19 and was bawling, clinging to daddy, using sad eyeballs to peer at things like little kids do with they're in trouble, clutching daddy's hand to her breast, and was creeping about like she had a pole up her rump and it hurt to walk --- all while her parents slowly led her hither and yon. It was hard to watch. Jana even laughed at her. The other girls are sheltered but they don't come across as complete idiots most of the time. Jill's repetitive vocabulary, her fake enthusiasm, lack of self-awareness, inability to be interesting, sexual attraction towards a fantastically ugly man, how easily she is distracted, how easily she is led, and that awful desire she has to open her mouth wide in every single photo ... I just feel like the elevator is there, but it got stuck in the church's pantry --- where she is systematically tossing out anything colorful to eat forever and ever, amen. Here is the part of that wisdom tooth episode where Jill acts so strange.

I wear my combat/mid-calf boots with shorts, skirts, dresses, jeans, and leggings. The key is to make sure the pants fit nice and snug all over. And if you're going to go with a frumpy oversized t-shirt . . . you should belt the shirt, knot the shirt, or put something over it to camo how ill-fitting it is. She could have used socks pulled higher than the boots and a denim jacket/vest to create a super nice looking outfit. With better pants, though. I think she probably doesn't understand how pants are sized or she's scared of clinging skinny stuff because she's afraid her modesty will become broken. I give her props for wearing jeans, though. Maybe she'll find the confidence to experiment with other styles and fits.

That baby is absolutely precious!! Her eyes look like Disney Princess cartoon eyes. Perfect almond-ish shape, bright and big, and so pretty. She really is an adorable little girl. Her eyebrows are reddish and I wish it wasn't a trick of light or me seeing things because a little red-haired Felicity would just be too cute for words.

My child. I swear, I'm not raising an evil little boy. He's VERY into superheroes. He eats, sleeps, and breathes them. I was looking at those pictures of Gideon sitting on a blanket alone grinning like his face was gonna go flip top head on us ... and my kid walked by, came back, and said, "Oh my gosh, mama! They're having baby Joker in a movie soon? Is that baby Joker? They found the perfect baby for that role!" *hangs head in shame* :)

These poor kids. Sam was encouraged to climb on the table. Then he was fed off the floor. Then he kept clumsily charging a fork held out toward him. Poor little Israel is basically ignored or snarked at, "Israel, let him have it!" -- when Jill said 'are you teasing brother' in reference to SAM teasing Izzy. "Why did you throw it away?" --- in reference to a tiny sliver of banana being tossed out. As a mom with kids who have special needs ... I really feel like something is going on with Izzy. Either he's so afraid of his parents that he acts unnaturally on camera OR ... something isn't right with him. I'm not sure which, but it's SOMETHING. I've said it for years.

My God. Did Darcey bankrupt herself with new teeth and tits and tail? Because that head of hair she was sporting was so vile it hurt to look at her. The front part that went to her shoulders was like a brassy yellow mullet she was growing out and it did NOT match whatever wig situation she was sporting in the back. The back looked like pissed on snow in places and very blond/white in other places. None of it went together at all. It was so distracting I couldn't focus on what she was even saying which is always a good thing so I just feel grateful more than anything.

Could you share that link from your YouTube history? It's the one episode I never got to see and I'm dying to see it. It gets referenced often enough that I've considered buying it, but my whole entire mouse arm goes apoplectic at the thought of spending money on ... the Duggars. *goes to bathe in burnt sage*

I can understand the mittens. Our daughter always had her hands around her face so we utilized mittens. Well, we took them off for professional photos when she was a month old and she scratched one of her eyeballs badly enough to need an eye patch for two weeks. Then she had to wear it on the OTHER eye for two weeks so they'd even out and develop the same. It was a nightmare and a half. We felt like absolute assholes for being vain instead of safe. Because of that, our daughter and our kids who followed her had mittens on nonstop. We even had bath mittens. We'd put the bath mittens on before bath, take them off one at a time while we focused on washing that hand and arm, then the bath mitten went right back on in the tub. I wonder if Felicity is going to be the first brown-eyed grandchild. Do any of Anna's kids have brown eyes? I love little Felicity's skin tone, too. She's got a nice little tan going on. I think she's the color poor Jinger TRIED to be as a teenager with self tanner. :)

I can only speak for myself, but with the advent of camera phones it's never been easier to take photos of yourself that you feel look good enough to share with friends and family on social media (or get your flirt on and text it to your significant other when you're apart). Because I was excommunicated from my family for being a lesbian --- I have no family photos --- not that I'd want them. However, my wife and I want to leave our beautiful kids a million photos of them and us - especially since they're all adopted and we want them to have reminders of this incredible family we built together at every stage. And with thumb drives being so small you can store thousands of pics at a time and literally take up the space of a quarter. We keep our favorites on thumb drives in our fireproof safe inside ziplock baggies so we won't lose our best photos in case of a fire/flood. I like that Jessa is into photography. She takes some beautiful shots and her family is crazy photogenic. Spurgeon and Henry are absolute dolls. I really do think that out of all the Duggar babies and grandbabies . . . those two little boys are the most adorable. I hope she keeps on sharing the pics and videos. I hope the other girls will, too.

You can take selfies of your face anywhere but non-bathroom selfies of your body tend to look like this:

I only got a phone that works that way this year. My wife still doesn't have one. Also, I think it could be argued that since Jessa doesn't need someone to photo her or worry about blocking part of herself in the mirror that she might be less high maintenance than her sisters. She also tends to wear flats when she is in a wedding while her sisters wear heels. I know she's dragged a lot for her abhorrent taste in clothing, but maybe she likes to be comfortable instead of cute.

You stand in front of a mirror and pose however you want just like you would pose for a regular photo. You lift your camera up. In Jessa's case, she is using her camera phone as you can see in the photo. You turn off flash. You point your camera at the reflection in the mirror the same way you would point it at a mountain if you wanted a mountain photo. You are photographing your image in a mirror. You are taking a shot of your reflection in the mirror. You click to take the photo and you're done. People photograph their reflection because it is easy, it's fast, and you can take really nice shots. I dislike having my picture taken. However, when I take a selfie I am relaxed and okay because I'm the one in control. If the photo is bad I can delete it and move on to another pose. Better lighting and no need to use flash. It's a way to show off a new outfit or see how an outfit photographs and check for any sheer/see through situations you wouldn't otherwise see (for those you would use flash). These two photos show the difference between a bathroom selfie and one done in a smaller mirror in a darker room that doesn't have bathroom lighting: Versus this bedroom shot.

I think there's a big difference between shooting a selfie in a mirror and having someone take your picture from a few feet away. Any selfie that I take in my bathroom tends to look nicer because of the lighting. I tend to hate photos of me that other people take but I generally like selfies. Jessa looks exactly like the others when someone else is photographing her:

I get such a kick out of reading the comments about Jill's lack of a vocabulary. Using 'dump' in a recipe is just bad. So bad. I want to reiterate that I grew up fundie/Quiverfull and was homeschooled from the ATI course. We were always taught to "speak plainly" because we didn't want to come across as putting on airs or like we were talking down to anyone. “Speak plainly and get to the point,” was my father’s favorite comment. Looking back, I think the ATI vocabulary was purposely dumbed down to keep us from fully understanding what was being said around us in the big bad world. It was meant to handicap our comprehension and communication. It was also boring. That’s why new phrases that come along in monthly newsletters/updates get run into the ground. When ‘Counting On’ first aired after the Josh scandal, every single person interviewed kept talking about “walking through this” and “walking through that.” I went back and looked at some of the ATI/Gothard monthly literature that was published around the time those interviews were filmed . . . “walking through this and that” was mentioned more than once. So was ‘season of life’ and they’ve been saying that shit ever since then. Why? It becomes fashionable to say those new phrases because it proves you read the crap that was just released. I say all of that long winded crap because I think Jill is trying to come across as Little Miss Simple with her recipes but she comes across as Little Miss Simpleton instead. She was never taught to imagine a better word than dump though because that's literally what she does with the ingredients. She dumps them in. She's 'speaking plainly' which was drilled into her head with ATI. It took me years to learn synonyms. I admit to this day I still look at the thesaurus when I'm writing something for work because I'll catch myself 'speaking plainly' and it's awful. But I don’t feel sorry for Jill or any of the other young adults because they have the internet and cellphones and access to a better education if they wanted it. Another thing about speaking plainly is that when you have as many kids in the house as we did (I didn't have 18, but enough) it becomes a race to be able to get a word in. When you have to schedule time with your parent to sit down and talk, you keep it concise and to the point. When you have that many people wanting to be heard at the dinner table, you speak plainly and say what you need to say. Jill plays at life like it's pantomime, like pulling big mouthed faces and big wide eyes convey happiness and excitement. Like keeping a recipe under 50 words is going to make it better for the reader. Because that's how you 'keep sweet' and 'speak plainly' and love the life the lord gave you. It's play acting. And Jill's a terrible actress. I hope this made sense and wasn’t rambly or against the COC. I had kidney stones broken up early this morning with Lithotripsy and I think I’m still a bit out of it from the anesthesia and calming meds they gave me.

That video of Jilly and Daddy Doalittlenotalot is very very very telling, imho. I don't believe Jill was 'in love' with Derick. I think she saw Ben hanging around Jessa and knew that they were about to enter a courtship with likely marriage. Jill has always been jealous of her sisters, especially Jessa. Always. In that sham of a book the older girls "wrote" called Growing Up Duggar, Jill even said so. She said: I think Jill knows that there isn't a universe in existence ANYWHERE that would make her as cute as all of her sisters. When you factor in the gummy smile, the long face, the eyebrows that try to leap off her head entirely, and her all-around brown nosing tattle telling boring as hell personality . . . she doesn't compare at all. She comes across as haughty and entitled and disingenuous and omg! so dramatic at times (shower caddy!). It's awful. At least most of the other older girls can be moderately personable and interesting. Well . . . sometimes. I think Jill is very well aware of where she falls in individual ratings. People (even me) have opined before that she would probably get married last out of the older girls. I figured she wouldn't want to leave her daddy, her biggest fan, and her sisters are way prettier and would be locked down first. But I think Jill LEAPED on the chance to start a courtship and get married before the other girls to show THEM up for a change. She proved, in her mind at least, that not only does Daddy love her best, so do the boys. Her sisters would have to measure up to her for a change. Any boy would have been fine, I believe. Any boy that a) daddy approved of b) was fundy enough and c) understood that Jill's maidenhead was going to be chaperoned by near toddlers 24/7 . . . would have gotten the stamp of approval. Derick is just the idiot who stepped up first, imho. He was convenient and interested. That's all.

I must have missed Captain Cardboard/JimBoob complementing J'LithiumDrip/Chelle at the end of the aisle at their daughter's weddings. Which one was it? Anyone have a clip handy? For a family who claims to be humble and modest . . . they LOVE to be the center of attention. They will try to upstage ANY wedding by stopping the procession out of the church to kiss. They try to one-up each other with kissing photos. They make random announcements of their own when something big is happening to a sibling. It's just horrible. That's not modesty. That's not humility.

Thank you, Jeeves and Zahdii. The only Journey to the Heart that ever happened to me ... was my family and church grabbing hold of mine and squeezing it until it shattered. Life was crap for me back then, but now I'm living a great life. My wife and I have adopted a bunch of little ones who keep up busy and proud and happy and just ... fine. I feel like I'm able to see a bigger picture and look at stuff from a lot of different perspectives because of what happened to me and that's my silver lining. I can confirm that food is regularly used as a reward and a punishment, especially if you are Quiverfull. If you misbehave, you aren't fed. I can't tell you how often my parents and the church tried to "starve my demon" ... like, I'd get hungry enough to be straight. Oh, I got hungry enough to say it, just not to BE IT. It was also used with little kids who wouldn't share, or would take stuff from other kids, or wouldn't sit down and listen to bible studies. Everyone else would get a snack, but the kid who didn't behave would be put in charge of passing out napkins and would then be forced to stand and watch everyone else eat. They also used water vs. juice/cola with us. Or they'd go out of their way to make the good kids some homemade milkshakes or ice cream. The bad kids would be in charge of turning the ice cream crank or dipping the sweet stuff into cups but would get nothing for themselves. This was especially effective if they didn't realize it until they were dipping the last bit into a bowl or cup and realized there was none left for them. "Jesus must have taken your portion as punishment for this or that." I got so tired of hearing "Jesus took it." I mention the above because I could see Jill doing this with her kids, but I don't see Jessa doing it. I don't think she would EVER let her babies go to bed hungry or take a treat away from one to give to the other. As surprised as I am to say it, Jessa truly seems like the best mom out of the bunch so far. I confess that when she was first courting and then married and even on her honeymoon when she was too good to try stuff, but would try to force Ben to do it, I was hoping she'd be sterile for a few years so she could grow up. However, she has surprised me. I think I actually saw the change in her happen when she first held Spurge in her arms and heard him cry. And even though she did him a BAD disservice with that name and it could be argued that anyone who would saddle a kid with such a cruel moniker must hate that child ... hehehe ... I think she's actually kinda in awe of her boys and super proud to be their mom.

I went on a couple of those ATI approved 'Journey to the Heart' brainwashings back in the day when I was a teenager. I think they might have been called something different. I don't really remember. My parents, for reasons I will never know, bought into Gothard and Quiverfull and ATI. The majority of my extended family, while religious, never took it to that level of crazy. I've always maintained that if my parents had read L. Ron Hubbard first they would have raised me in Scientology. If they'd met Jim Jones before Gothard . . . we'd all be dead. THAT is what I think of Quiverfull and IBLP/ATI. They're cults to me just like Jim Jones and Scientology. (Sorry if there are Scientology folk here.) I don't like to talk about it too much. What I went through being a lesbian teenager in that culture was a living hell. It was drilled into my head that my life and afterlife would both be full of agony, suffering, and misery. I was told I would literally be repeatedly murdered daily in hell for being gay. Going back to that in my mind tends to make me want to gnaw open my wrists and take a hot bath. I will say this about Jessa. I love that Spurgeon the Sturgeon is talking about Peter Rabbit. If she was fully committed to ATI and IBLP and Gothard's teachings, she would not be wasting time with Peter Rabbit. Stuff like that is considered worldly and full of hidden messages from Satan and bad people and demons. Gothard railed against Disney and Saturday cartoons with an iron fist. Anything that didn't have a message about God was deemed unfit. Cartoons encouraged kids to believe in 'fantasy' and 'witchcraft' and higher powers than God himself like Ninja Turtles and Transformers and Inspector Gadget. We were told that all of that stuff, anything that made kids feel hero worship or even just enjoy freakin' Fred Flintstone, took away from God's word. We didn't have a television. I got hooked on a Soap Opera called Santa Barbara and would visit my non-religious aunt on weekends under the guise of having a job and we'd watch all the weekly eps she had taped every Saturday. Then she would give me cash to make it seem like I was paid for a job. I learned about life watching that soap. And when I was banished . . . that aunt and her husband took me in, paid for my education, and accepted me. I think Jessa genuinely loves her kids enough to let them be kids. I really do. And I think her motherly instinct, just based on what I've seen, is strong enough for her to fight for her kids if the church tried to turn on them. I think she would leave with them and not remove them from her life. At least, my heart is determined to believe it based on how nurturing she is with her kids.

Dear Nicole, Captain Obvious, here. It's been a while since we spoke, but I have some food for thought. Azan keeps mentioning the $6000.00 his sister lost because of the first wedding being canceled. You know, the one that was YOUR fault because you are an idiot who can't read and research which paperwork you need to bring into a foreign country for a marriage license. Isn't it just so IRONIC that you had exactly $6000.00 saved up? Honey bear, don't you realize that Azan gave his unsmiling sister the $6000.00 to reimburse her so she could smile again . . . and the $500.00 *he* had to invest did actually go towards makeup. For himself. What. An. Idiot.

Ugh. I'm still seething over the videos of Sam taking his first steps. It's REALLY not that hard to involve an older child and Izzy was clearly desperate to participate. When our older kids want to do things to help with the younger ones, we include them. I have vids of babies walking to big bro/big sis instead of me or my wife. I have vids showing the baby walking between two older kids so they're involved. It's a FAMILY. That means everyone participates. And it clear they told Izzy it wasn't his "turn with papa" which is why he stated multiple times that it was now his turn. If you are going to teach taking turns . . . then TAKE TURNS. Derdick just ignores and then pushes the kid away. So sad. And I hate to say this because I have several children with special needs, but every time I see Jill's kids, both of them, I wonder if they have delays. I can't decide if they have delays or Jill/Derdick just don't bother with them like they should. It was pretty obvious in the vid of Izzy performing with his peers that he was nowhere near their level. I really do think they neglect Izzy in favor of Sam and both of them in favor of themselves and it's heartbreaking to see. Also, for the love of everything, can someone teach Derdick how to dress? He can't even buy a suit that fits. If he is working as much (and for as long) as he claims . . . he should be able to buy something cheap off the rack or at a thrift store and then have it altered to fit him. Hell, JANA could do it for him. And his shoes? Neither Jill or Derdick seem to understand shoes. Those brown abominations that Derdick wears are not dress shoes. Hell, they aren't shoes at all . . . they're more like pleather crimes against humanity that just happen to fit his big flippers. I don't know how, between Derdick's entire face and Jill's gummy smile and raised eyebrows, they made two cute kids. They're both the least attractive people I've ever seen on any reality show. And their personalities match.