SabineElisabeth

So I can't sleep and in the middle of doing something else completely unrelated, I was absentmindedly thinking about a re-run of one of the house remodel episodes I saw recently with Jer and Auj, and I immediately remembered this comment, specifically "I should have just blessed my wife with a new dishwasher." My very next thought was that rather than sit on the floor cutting and pasting, "blogging," and arranging her oils all day (and since that's what we're shown, guessing those are the highlights, so, that, plus whatever other mundane tasks she does), perhaps, had it really been oh so very important to her, she could've gotten up off her ass, found some kind of steady gainful employment, and blessed herself with a freaking dishwasher. And we know for a fact from the episodes filmed when Aug was still in Cali that she has a decent education and had quite a relatively nice paying job. So, the ability is there; but, the desire? Guess she's waiting now on her Covenent slave, I mean, husband, to get up off his ass and make it happen. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA That is all. Happy Friday!

Josie could just be a "busy child," as my mother would say (and often did, about my little sister). There's also a difference between touching glass/breakable items, and moving a few throw pillows. I'm sorry, but I think it's a pretty, ummm, big stretch, shall we say, to use moving a pillow from a chair to the couch a couple feet away as evidence of developmental delays, lack of manners, disobedience, and so on. Reasonably sure that lots of very intelligent, well-adjusted, well-behaved kids have been known to move a throw pillow or two when visiting a close relative's home.

Yes, but, wouldn't it have been wonderful if they did? Would you really have declined?? I'm not sure it's fair to take one's social media as an accurate account of how one spends his/her time day to day. Speaking for myself, if I posted my normal daily grind on my facebook/instagram, all my friends would probably unfriend me, post-haste, as they'd all be dying from boredom! I've always thought that most people post fun/exciting/cute/funny - basically, out of the ordinary - things on their social media accounts, but maybe that is an incorrect assumption on my part? In any case, I really have no idea what a normal day looks like for Jeremy and Jinger, and I would seriously hesitate to take what we see on tv and/or their social media accounts as being very representative of their daily lives. Could be, don't get me wrong, but very well could be completely different than everyday life for them, as well. Having said that, even if they do have lives of leisure, does that preclude them from being able to enjoy nice things? If they paid for it themselves, then perhaps they are working more than most think. If they were in fact gifted the vacation, then how very thoughtful of their friend(s)! And if TLC paid for the trip, then they were basically working. Not saying that it wouldn't still be enjoyable to be on vacation in a beautiful location, but it would be signficantly less "relaxing" to do so with cameras shoved in your face shooting the same scenes over and over, etc. I also don't really understand what is wrong with allocating some of your resources to nice things for yourself. Personally, I tithe and give to other causes that are important to me in a way that aligns with my values and because I'm comfortable/at peace with that aspect of my life, I'm also comfortable with allocating some of my income for things that I guess a lot of people would judge as extravagant and somehow "wrong." In any case, these posts are all interesting to me precisely because of the differences in opinion, and I enjoy hearing others' perspectives on things, thinking about things in a way I perhaps haven't before, and mulling it all over in my mind. :-)

I've always gotten a creepy vibe from both Caryn and Chris, and the last few episodes do nothing but reinforce that. Caryn treats/talks to Matt the same way my niece's babysitter does to my niece (she's 6). Chris' disappearing act during the bike trip helped pinpoint a little bit what it is about him that I think bothers me....and it's that I get the feeling there is more going on with him than we know (and probably than Amy knows). Not getting the "I'm an open book" feeling from him at all. My opinion of what happened during the bike trip is that Chris was sneaking off to do something. No idea what but I'm pretty sure there is no human being who was raised in civilized society who would honestly think it acceptable to get up from the table in the middle of a meal at a restaurant and walk off for 20 mins without a word to his dinner companion about where he was going. Not buying for a second that Chris was oblivious to that not being okay, and not buying the excuse that was presented on the show, either. Part of me thinks Matt and Amy will ride things out with Caryn and Chris, respectively, however, for as long as humanly possible rather than be the first to fail at another relationship - no matter how creepy ass they may be.

1. I have no idea WTF Molly's deal is, and I've actually given it considerable thought.....sadly. Not saying Jon is perfect, but for the love of God, Molly. 2. Throughout the entire season, I've had a single thought about Ryan, which is that he is an idiot. I've expounded upon this in a prior post, so will leave it at that. Not saying Jacklyn is perfect, but for the love of God, Ryan. 3. I can't help myself lol....I totally am pulling for Jepthe and Shawniece. Yes, Jepthe seems a bit behind where you'd expect emotionally and has trouble expressing himself sometimes, I think. While Shawniece can come on a little, ummm, strong sometimes. And damn, girl seems hell bent on being married. No. Matter. What. However, Shawniece also seems joyful, playful, sweet, fun, outgoing, loving....which I think is bringing out the best in Jepthe, who seems to me to be a pretty quality guy once you start to get glimpses of what's underneath his guarded exterior. In fact, I think they both are bringing out the best in each other, which is really special, imho. And even more, I think they're both aware of it and see the immense value in it. I also agree with previous posters that Jepthe is well aware of his lack of role models and experience when it comes to having a healthy relationship, but he seems both open to and capable of learning. As for a long-term future together, I could see them not being mature enough individually and in their relationship at this point to weather a huge conflict or something similar should it arise, but perhaps life circumstances will work to bind them together and give them the motivation and commitment to work through difficult times and maybe (hopefully) actually make it. (-:

I thought Jana looked amazing, to be honest. When you have a figure like she does, you can rock just about anything.... including walking shorts (what I have always heard them called)!

I think Ryan's problem is that he is stupid. Really, really stupid. Quite possibly the least smart person I can remember seeing on this show yet. And one of so many things resulting from his stupidity is a complete lack of self-awareness. If he had even a glimmer of insight into his own feelings, he would have realized that what he really meant by his stupid, stupid rant about Jacklyn running away with their kids to travel (WTF?) is that he's feeling overwhelmed and freaked out by the thought of giving up his single life/freedom, etc. Holy crap, what an unbelievable dumbass.....

My BIL used to sell work trucks as a side business and ended up selling them somewhat regularly to Gil Bates. During the course of doing business together, my BIL and my sister ended up becoming friends with Gil and Kelly, who invited BIL/sister and their two kids over when the Duggars were visiting a few years ago. I, of course, tagged along, and while we were just there a couple of hours, my impression of Michelle was that, generally speaking, she's just bored AF with life. She was napping when we got there, woke up and ate a bowl of ice cream, and then spent the rest of our visit sitting at the kitchen table appearing to be....just bored. Not rude, exactly, but just.....distant. Disinterested. Bored. Exactly as she appeared at the dress shop. And just like she did with the cap sleeves exclamation on this episode, it was like every now and then she'd remember other people were there and would pipe up with a random comment in a voice so fake-y enthusiastic it was almost cringe-worthy.

Some final musings.... One, although I probably personally would have waited to have an ultrasound to confirm I really was pregnant and even then, waited until about the 12 week mark before telling my children, I think my previous comment about the Alldredges announcing the pregnancy prior to same was a little harsh. Given that Vanessa has been pregnant before and was experiencing pregnancy symptoms, it was not as irresponsible imho as I thought for her/the family to be confident enough she was pregnant prior to an ultrasound to tell their kids another baby was on the way. And regardless of whatever else about the series was scripted, the molar pregnancy clearly was for real and seemed awful for all of them. I also thought Sharis seemed concerned for Vanessa in a way that I hope was not just for the show, but really as genuine as it looked. Two, I laughed my ass off when Dmitri and Ashley met Jakira. Dmitri looked like it was using every ounce of concentration he had to sit there and keep painting instead of running as fast as he could for the nearest exit, while Ashley was grinning from ear to ear. And of course Ashley was all about Jakira - given that Dmitri is clearly attracted to thin, conventionally pretty women, bringing Jakira into the family as their sister "wife" would ensure Ashley's status as favorite (while she would clearly have been yesterday's news had Jocelyn worked out). Honestly, I'll be shocked if those two are ever able to agree on someone, as long as they both have equal veto power (and good for Ashley for at least insisting on that as part of whatever "agreement" she and Dmitri have going in their relationship). Three, I never could figure out the Brineys, except I know that Drew was such a simpering pansy that I actually wanted to cheer when he went off about April wanting to stay in Utah. No opinion on whether he was right or wrong; I was just excited to hear him have an opinion and express it in something other than a whimper. Four, while it's true that the Brineys, Alldredges, and the Browns (from Sister Wives) were all "out" prior to being on tv, there is a difference in living in a certain way somewhat quietly and going on national tv shoving it in everyone's faces. The latter also affects how the gov't/law enforcement act/respond towards the family once their public exposure increases. ----Till next season!!

So I've watched every episode of this show and admit to being confused AF tonight. My understanding of why Vanessa hadn't really connected with Melina was that she was focused on her pregnancy and was dealing with pregnancy-related sickness. Given that Melina and Sharis seemed to be in love and that the family had told their kids about Melina, I assumed that they had been getting to know Melina long distance for at least several months. However, tonight we find out that Vanessa thinks she's a whole 12 weeks along, meaning that Melina had been in the picture for probably much less than 12 weeks (unless Vanessa somehow thinks she knows the day she got preggo). So, how did Sharis fall so hard for this woman in such a short period of time, and WHY in the world would you tell your kids about a potential new mommy when you've known her for less time than my sheets sometimes stay on my bed?? And in the same vein.....WHY in the holy fuck would you tell your kids that you're having another baby before you actually verify you're having another baby???? Seriously, did it not occur to any of the three adults in this family to get some kind of confirmation Vanessa was actually pregnant before getting their kids all excited about it? And let's not forget the announcement about the baby that doesn't materialize was meant to make up for the announcement about the new mommy who never materialized. I'm sorry, but this group of "adults" reminds me of a room full of little kids all waving their hands in the air about to burst to tell every little piece of "news" they think they have. And while it's normal for small children to have zero patience, these people are GROWN UPS who need to CHILL THE FUCK OUT and stop telling their kids crap until they're at least reasonably sure it's going to happen!!!!

I was completely confused about 5 minutes into this episode. How does someone who spent a reasonably significant period of time in Korea (as in, literally, halfway across the world) have a breakdown after spending a few WEEKS in freaking Indiana? 1. Is she regressing? 2. Was the "breakdown" just a cover for her not being able to keep up with the dancing? Some combination of both? As to Theory #1, I absolutely believe Whit has some kind of arrested development - and as much as I kind of do love Glenn and Babs, they have to be, at minimum, participants in whatever weird ass dynamic that has kept (and/or allowed) Whit from maturing, if not part of the cause. (Haven't seen enough of their interactions/history to really be able to form an opinion as to why Whit seems to have stopped progressing from child to adult at some point). Of course, I'm pretty sure Whit's complete refusal (inability ?) to be an adult is not a new thing.... which makes me wonder if it's somehow getting even worse. (I know, who would've thought that to be possible....) But, what we do know is that at some point in the past she was able to hold down a job in a foreign country, and now she can't even make it a few weeks a couple states over without having a "panic attack" necessitating a middle of the night (faux) "rescue" and her hanging her head out the car window on the drive back to Greensboro to get some air. As to Theory #2, as a former big girl (5'2", 345 lbs), I can tell you, unequivocally from personal experience, that being that size is anything but fabulous. And I think each season we've seen a decline in the very limited number of things Whit could do in the first place. Before I lost 200 lbs 7 years ago, I can remember walking up the SIX stairs in front of my office building and being so out of breath that I would pray I wouldn't run into anyone before I could immediately duck into the ladies room, where I'd spend the next 5 minutes wiping sweat off myself and trying to be able to breath again. SIX stairs! When the show first started, I actually loved the message of not waiting until you have the "perfect" body to live life....for instance, I loved the scene where Whit and friend went to the beach, perfect beach body be damned. However, while I completely agree with living life where you are, I do NOT think that equals being complacent with being so overweight. For one, I know from personal experience that you reach a point where you are so big you CAN'T live life. You can't fucking move. You hurt every minute of every day. And sorry Whit, but you are NOT healthy. You might not have high blood pressure, you might have gotten your blood sugar within normal range, you might not have high cholesterol, or whatever other things overweight people throw out to try and convince themselves and others that they might be big but are still healthy....but not buying any of it. For one, the absence of those things does not equal healthy. Just the amount of stress being that big puts on one's body is in and of itself unhealthy. The strain put on your skeletal system, your heart/other organs, the long term effects of having a fatty liver (and yes, if you're a big girl, your liver is fatty and huge), the increased risk of all kinds of cancer from being overweight, and on and on.... And that is all, because I honestly don't really know what else to even say.

I think Andrei is the only one this season who is ready for marriage - or hell, adulthood, for that matter. Also, I honestly have yet to see any behavior from Andrei I would consider to be controlling, and I think I'm pretty sensitive to that kind of thing. So he doesn't think it's appropriate for people in a committed relationship to be clubbing/going to strip clubs.... completely normal, in my opinion. And let's not forget he's not just telling Elizabeth she can't go; he's saying he isn't comfortable with either of them engaging in those activities. Finally, I think we all have limits in a relationship that if crossed make us uncomfortable. Where that line is drawn varies from person to person, but we all have one... and I don't think that automatically equates with being controlling at all. As long as the couple is on the same page about where that line should be set, I see no issues at all. And I died when Andrei said that rather than drag out their engagement planning a wedding they can't afford, they should go ahead and get married now so he can start working, and Elizabeth can then perhaps have her dream day actually become a reality at some point, because I don't see horse-drawn carriages and snowy mountains magically appearing in her life in the next 90 days. And afterall, getting married really is about the marriage itself more so than a fairy tale wedding. Nothing wrong with the latter if it's pratical, but it's certainly a secondary consideration in my opinion, and I love that Andrei seems to have his priorities straight... and that Elizabeth appeared to sincerely get on board with the idea, as well. Andrei refuses to play games - either Elizabeth's or Family Elizabeth's - and his skill at shutting the games down while still being gracious and kind makes me all kinds of impressed.