MrSmith

Fair enough. My wife was somewhat insecure when I met her, largely because she weighed about 350 pounds. I probably spent the first five years of our relationship patiently reassuring, complimenting, and supporting her, and that solved that problem. When she fractured her kneecap at work in 2002, I realized she needed help adjusting to not working outside the home and having a paycheck anymore. I had to help her change her "currency" from "I earn a paycheck" to "I take pride in running the house", which was largely about showing my appreciation for the fact she was keeping the house clean, doing the shopping, making meals, and etc. I just think that parents don't have enough conversations with their children about how to choose a mate (of whichever gender to which they are oriented) and create a successful, long-lasting relationship. For example, my youngest sister-in-law has said for years that she wants to find someone who supports and cares for her like I support and care for her sister. So she knows where she wants to get to, so to speak, but I don't think she really has the map to get there from where she is. She's spent the last 10 years fucking, by turns, three of the biggest losers you'd probably ever meet that travel in her circle of friends and naturally ended up pregnant by one of the least mature of the three. I feel like I'm going to have to talk to her a little bit about it, which I've not yet done because it's always felt like I'm over-stepping.

Because let's face it: She's not involved in the making of these products. This is just the cosmetics equivalent of the George Foreman grill.

That outfit is definitely wrong. Personally, the pattern on the skirt is also wrong, even if the style of the skirt is otherwise ok on its own. The skirt's pattern reminds me of really old kitchen tile. I can't quite place the decade, but it's still kitchen tile.

It's nice to see you know what's important in life! :D

I agree with so much of what you wrote. I had to make a couple of changes, though. But let's go back to the top, eh? FT is definitely slovenly. It's .... appalling. Honestly, I think that one reason he likes Utah is because he's surrounded by these desperate, co-dependent, needy, weak, lacking in self-confidence FLDS girls because then he doesn't have to put any effort into himself or his appearance. If he were just about anywhere else in the country, he wouldn't get a second look from 80% (or better) of the single ladies his age. If he weren't in Utah, he'd have to put effort into his mode of dress, his teeth, his hair, his diet, his manners, and - hardest of all - his character and personality. From what I've seen of him, I can't see what he has to offer a mate on any of those counts. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but when someone takes that little care of their appearance that tells me they don't really like themselves very much and have low self-esteem. As for Mykelti's wedding attire, you're absolutely right that she would have looked amazing in a season-appropriate dress and accoutrements. If she'd put a little more thought into it, she could've gone with something like https://image.dhgate.com/albu_286831431_00/1.0x0.jpg, https://image.dhgate.com/0x0/f2/albu/g3/M01/3A/67/rBVaHFaCMOmAP_oqAAM8pGd3KOk816.jpg, or https://i.pinimg.com/736x/99/83/3f/99833f33f012122593d579ee57b0ba31--winter-wedding-ideas-winter-weddings.jpg. And I got all of those with a simple Google search for "russian winter wedding dresses"! There are plenty of other cold-region countries that have equally beautiful and functional winter wedding wear. It's a shame they didn't put more thought and effort into their wedding. It's also a shame she didn't bridezilla a little bit on her groom and force some standards on him. Similarly, they could have selected a venue that was on the cool side and yet provided shelter from the wind and cold for their guests. Of course, that would have required them to be a bit realistic, which isn't possible since they're both essentially about twelve years old emotionally. The same is the problem and cause of their lack of concern and consideration for anyone other than themselves. That marriage is going to be a "big spoons in Hell" kind of a situation for sure.

@Granny58 You make me laugh sometimes! Thanks!

What's even worse is just what kind of an indictment this all is of the utter failure in parenting this child as she was growing up. It's sad and a shame that she grew up to be that needy, desperate, and lacking in confidence that she's unable to choose a man as a life partner that would be supportive, gentle, considerate, loving, and positive.

True, but sometimes women end up showing more of them than they realize. I wouldn't have been able to remain seated in that situation and I also wouldn't have been able to let her leave the table without giving her a heads-up. I've had to do that before at a wedding, actually.

@Gothish520 Here's my take on the Browns and their cultural appropriation (we can agree to call it something else in order to avoid triggering you; I'm open to suggestion). Madison and Caleb get, in my opinion, a pass on the use of dreamcatchers because they're not running around trying to shill shit that looks like it or is "based on" it. They're also not acting like using them in a wedding is some grand tradition that's almost the exclusive domain of the Brown family. However, when it comes to Claddagh rings, this is not the case. When they first gave (Robyn?) a Claddagh ring, they acted like the giving of a Claddagh ring was something that was almost entirely unheard of; like it was something almost completely unique about the Brown family. Also, there's this: https://mysisterwifescloset.com/search?q=claddagh. They're shilling cheap, poorly made trinkets based on Claddagh rings and the traditions and meanings around them. The-term-we-will-agree-not-to-use is about whether you're showing respect for the traditions you're borrowing or whether, like the Browns, you act like a Johnny-come-lately that invented it out of whole cloth.

@Kyanight I read your post before you edited it. I wish I wasn't at work right now because that is uproariously funny! I wish I could just laugh out loud and enjoy the fullness of what you've written.

I was trying to figure out what struck me as "off" about them in that picture. I think you've nailed it!

You've gotta love Starcasm. This picture really shows just how stupid and stupid-looking these two really are. Perfect! I recall them talking about the symbolism a time or two. I still feel they act like they're super unique because they give Claddagh rings and that they're among the minority of people who give them, while completely ignoring there's a whole culture wherein the rings and associated symbolism were created. Seriously, if they were appropriating Native American culture the way they're appropriating Irish culture via Claddagh rings, they'd be receiving hate mail and threats.

I wonder who the crazy-eyed woman that looks like a cross between Meri, Kody, and Christine is.

Tony is basically universally reviled on these boards. If you see the abbreviation "FT", it means "Fat Tony" and that's what many call him. LOL It's not that people don't give Claddagh rings. It's that the Browns have co-opted it and thrown out all of the cultural and historical context around them, and then are acting like they (the Browns) are special and unique because they give Claddagh rings to each other. These are the answers I could provide you. I'm sure someone else will be along to help you out with your other questions.

Come on, now! Don't hold out on us! These are the kinds of posts we live love to read. Get crackin'! :D

OMG. I almost started laughing out loud at work when I read this!

I have Charter/Spectrum. I'm going to try not to get started too much. I just want to say I find the commercials with the monster characters quite funny and enjoyable. I particularly like the one where Death accidentally touches a guy on the train, marking him for death. (I know that sounds sick and twisted, but the way the commercial does it, it turns out to be a good joke.) I rather like Charter, actually. Their customer service leaves a bit to be desired, but the service otherwise is quite good. I had Dish a couple of decades ago and I hated that service with a passion. Every time a drop of water fell on the dish, the service went out. (No, not literally. It just seemed that way.) I would never get DirecTv since it's the same kind of service. In my area, there is a competitor to Charter. The only problem is that they're $30 more expensive than Charter's most expensive package. My mother-in-law has Time Warner Cable, which has recently been purchased by Charter. Their service is abysmal and more expensive than even Charter. I have Charter's most expensive package and I spend $200 a month on it. My mother-in-law has expanded basic cable with HBO, Internet service, and phone service (for the "triple play" discount) and she pays $220 to $230 a month - which is what HBC (Hiawatha Broadband Cable - Charter's competitor in my area) would charge me for their most expensive package. My parents have U-verse and my father has come to loathe them. They still have it because my father hates Time Warner Cable more (and they live in the same city as my mother-in-law).

I would just like to point out that if you don't cut the pizza, then there is substantially no difference between "a slice of pizza" and "the whole pizza". Just sayin'....

Basically, she could've written this much more succinctly by simply saying what my father taught me: Don't borrow trouble. It's served me well over the years. Though I suppose that's probably a bit too succinct for most people. If anyone wants an explainer, I'll be happy to post one. Bless you! It's nice to know I'm not alone. I always think she looks like a Pacman frog when she's sitting on the couch like that.

LOL. BWAHAHAHAHA! There's no way that's what she's doing. Do you really think they can afford $1500 for this: https://www.fully.com/standing-desks/treadmill-desks.html? I'm sure that all Sobbyn is doing is using a treadmill and replying to email using her phone. Oh, and that's $1500 for just the smallest, most basic configuration. If you start customizing that desk with the contour top, change the material, or add any goodies, the price ramps up quickly.

I was originally going to disagree with the bold part (since I made the mistake of reading from page 3 backward to page 2). Good reminder to me that context is important. heh. So I had to delete my previous reply and just say that, yes, in this context I can understand this. Especially since April is still technically part of the religion she grew up with, and that's a hard thing to overcome. I've spent a lot of years wandering around blowing up my own religious beliefs over and over until I could figure out what I really believed. It's a hard thing to do with little comfort to be found along the way. While I think that everyone should do this because it's good for them on many fronts, I can't fault people too hard for not doing it. The reason I'm still Team April is because it would be very easy to restate and misconstrue April saying "There are spare mattresses in the basement. Why don't your children use those?" into "Your kids can have my kids' mattresses and then we'll just get my kids new mattresses, instead." Another thought I had is that it's possible April was volunteering to have her kids double-bunk in order to free up mattresses for Auralee's children to use until they got new mattresses, which would be even easier to twist into "April's trying to get her children new mattresses instead of mine! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" It seems to me that she's playing this up a bit because either Drew thinks it's cute or she believes he does and also because she probably believes it makes her sound/appear less threatening and less manipulative. Also, there's surgery available for what I am sure is a cleft palate**. Perhaps instead of having eleventy-million children and "marrying" a dweeb who's already married, she should invest in corrective surgery. So that's why I had mocked it. **My older brother was born with a severe cleft palate. It's been corrected through surgery and he speaks perfectly clearly and can be understood with no effort.

Deleted as not relevant.

Wow! I have made it through the first page of comments in this thread and it sounds like this episode is MUST-SEE TV. Guess I'll be getting the wife to put off viewing until I can watch with her. Damn it, too! All I really want to do is turn Netflix on and go back to Murder Maps! *shakes a tiny fist*

Listening to her sing probably makes the audience wish the Earth would swallow her, or the Wind would carry the sound of her singing away, and I got nothing for Fire.

Not to be a pedant, but the Department of Homeland Security has not yet existed for 20 years, let alone 20+. It was created in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attack, which would make it - at best - almost 16 and 1/2 years old.