RebeccatheWriter

I think one pair of Carlin's earrings came from Christian Temu/BSB

I like your description better than what I was thinking. My mind kept going to a new player on Sims 4 learning the cheats.

They seem to be trying to catch up on some trends and movies they would not have been allowed to see. Carlin has referenced shows like the Office, but there was speculation and some confirmation that they used censors/filters to make things more appropriate to their beliefs. We've seen them now taking the kids to movies and thre have been toys such as Spiderman.

Erin's participation was completely for the show. She wandered around saying "designer" things. She's not a designer. She decorates. Throwing a throw pillow into a room or putting some books on a shelf (backwards) isn't design. I remember that episode. She wandered around an empty house and said what she would paint or what she would leave the way it was in the first place. The other story was Zach and Whitney (who was trying to show she was still in real estate) renovating their first house purchase. Whitney threw our real estate phrases like checking the comps and resale value.

Yes, sorry I was in a meeting and pretending to be engaged.

Erin's unaccredited degree is in music ministry. She is not qualified to earn or receive a teaching license for public or private schools - even in Florida that has relaxed the rules. But on a practical level she has six kids. What she made from teaching would just be enough to cover childcare. Private schools are relying on federal funds to survive. As it stands now (Project 2025 could change that), a school has to have a ratio of accredited teachers to students that makes it nearly impossible to hire non-licensed teachers. While she might play the piano for a church or work with the choir, the churches she and Chad tend to attend are big on women in leadership roles.

House flipping only really works when the economy allows for it. At the time they tried to make it something of a storyline on the show, houses were underpriced and could be sold for profit for little or lots of renovation. In the current housing market you can't make money on it. That $100,000 junk house you are going to fix up for $50,000 and sell for $200,000 now costs $300,000 as is. The supplies are easier than a few years ago to obtain but still not always available. So that repair is costing $150,000 instead. Now you have $450,000 in a house that will sell for $425,000. It's not sustainable these days except for those who have the cash to buy at auction and the liquidity to float it while they get supplies in for it. Most who are involved in flipping successfully now are limited to those who have multiple licenses (construction, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, etc.). Chad was never going to go that route. It was more of a storyline. If the brothers-in-law came together on a business they could kill it. You could have John with HVAC, Evan doing electical, Kelton doing the plumbing, and even Zach doing the real estate. Chad would have to pull his weight but it could work. But they would have to get along and I doubt most would be interested now.

I can't speak to Evan's abilities, but Carlin was shown swimming in lakes with her siblings. However, on the show (not the most reliable narrator), Erin and Whitney signed their oldest children up for swim lessons. I think Jeb and Jud went too. Erin mentioned her mother was scared about them swimming and they weren't signed up for classes and basically taught each other.

Their talk of the hot tub is legit cracking me up. "Our pastor got one..." Yes, that's who I want to follow for luxury items - the freaking pastor of the church. "Warden showed up so we got him to get in too." "Katie can't wait to be able to get in it when she is not pregnant. We're going to party." Yes, because my idea of a party for Evan is him, his wife, his sister-in-law, and two brothers-in-law. All in a bowl of human soup - I mean hot tub.

Alyssa gave a tour of Bill and Jane's earlier this year. She showed there were two bedrooms on the main floor and another bedroom that was called Bill's office. There were two bathrooms and she referred to Jane as using one and Bill as using another. After their kids were grown they converted the attic to guest rooms. It's a bit cluttered with furniture but could be adjusted to make way for a walker (a wheelchair would be harder). Someone needs to put in a ramp for them. Zach said he was going to do it but I've not seen it done yet. For financial and sentimental reasons I get why they want to stay. Depending on the type of dementia Bill has and his symptoms, a move could make things worse. It could also make things safer. So it is always a balancing act. I've had relatives who were sweet and kind as always - even in the later stages. I've been around other relatives who became paranoid and combative. He doesn't need six kids underfoot and those kids don't need to be seeing the day in and day out trials of dementia and failing health. Carson and Brooklyn always look so miserable. I can't imagine them having to deal with seeing the melt downs and moments Bill has when it is a bad day. I say this as someone who was Brooklyn's age when my grandfather had a brain tumor. It was traumatizing to see and witness some of those things. My parents encouraged me to be a child, unlike Erin who expects her children to be mini-adults, especially an emotional support child like Carson/Charles. If Jane wants additional help, Michaela and Brandon might be the better choice for them.

There is always confusion on this but Bill and Jane have between 60-70 acres of farmland with their house and barn structures on it. Gil's sister has eight acres that she was gifted (bought for $5) from Bill and Jane. She's the one who has an above ground pool and her house whee she lived with her husband until he died. Gil's brother Greg has about eight acres too that he bought for $5. Greg has a house built on his land too. Gil said on United Bates of America that he had a few acres there but when you search the property records, nothing comes up. If, and I assume they have done this, Bill and Jane have already set their estates up for after they pass with trusts and wills, etc., Erin or any of the grandchildren moving there would be problematic for the future - potentially. Gil's parents probably are leaving all of the land to be split among Gil, Greg, and Jennifer. Gil and Greg's children would not inherit anything until Gil and Greg pass away. I'm not sure what Jennifer will do since her spouse is deceased and they had no children. When my grandparents died everything was left to my dad, aunts, and uncles. My father's will states that I will get the land he received but everything else goes to my mother if she is still living. Erin jumping line could cause a lot of issues with her siblings, cousins, aunt, and uncle. For example some of the 60-70 acres includes a creek and is probably not buildable land. Imagine being the one stuck with that land because one of your sisters jumped line as she was bad with finances. Not to mention if they built something on the land that is still owned by Bill and Jane, they are increasing the tax burden on an elderly couple. I don't put it past them to do it. I just think it is crappy that for all Chad's "talents," he cannot manage to do more than handy man work and selling prayer cards.

I would agree but that neighborhood has some drainage issues already. Some of the lots are very rocky and drainage has been a problem. I would not have messed with it. Given the flooding that has been going on in East Tennessee recently, I would be giving them a side eye if I lived "downstream." I'd also worry (as you said) about the stability of the land of their upper neighbors. If I was Carlin and Evan, I wouldn't have avoided this in the first place. But if I found myself in this mess, I would look at rain garden techniques such as plantings, sand, and rocks to direct the water behind the putting green. It would potentially be a nicer view from the pool than a wall of grass.

According to my annoying and "fashion diva" co-worker, they still are. She also refers to Youtube as new.

They have the typical build it (buy it) and they will come mentality. On Reddit and other places there are people who compliment Carlin for coming up with the idea of BSB. They repeat the tongue-in-cheek phrasing of Gil describing Alyssa as someone who (as a teen) would do your taxes and design a logo for you. Yay they figured out how to create an online store selling cheap and fast "fashion" in the form of dresses, tops, and now Alyssa with the hats. Carlin didn't exactly break the glass ceiling with her idea to do what others were doing with the benefit of a show advertising for you. They break many business rules by buying too late in the season and clearly buying too much (their in-person sales are ridiculously overstocked). She and Whitney have hired someone to manage the store but have made no known efforts to learn anything themselves. Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen when someday they hire someone who decides to steal from them. They are relying on their followers at this point and creating their marketing (photos, videos, and social media) weeks after grown-up retailers have already pushed theirs out. They did a preview of fall drop three weeks ago on their Instagram and were still promoting sleeveless flower dresses as of four weeks ago. Last Valentine's they started promoting dresses for Valentine's day FOUR days before the holiday. Shipping takes longer than that. Alyssa has focused on one item in a variety of sizes, but her marketing only targets men. Her audience is female. She admits that she doesn't even like wearing what she is selling. Her setup is ridiculous with replacing the toys in the cabinets with various sizes of hats. So if she makes a sale, does she have to open the cabinets to get the items and box them on the ground? Her girls are doing "school" on the first floor and she's now making it so she has to leave them and haul herself upstairs to do the hat stuff. Even if she traipses downstairs to box and ship, she's got a toddler to deal with and four children who she needs to be supervising. I would have thought it would make sense to buy a cabinet to put in the dining room and use the table as a shipping station. I certainly hope John runs out and ships them for her since she'd have to lug five kids to the UPS store, USPS, etc. The hats are more of a giveaway that you would ship when someone bought $50 or $100 of merch from you.

I hope they have a lawyer. Grass isn't going to help the drainage issue they have created. It wouldn't be great for the pool but I hope most of the runoff goes there rather than the "downstream" neighbor's yard. I went back to find video of their backyard. Previously it had sloped sides. The side to the right as you step out the back has always been steep. It looks slightly less steep. The area where the pool is located sloped back toward the wooded area and seemed to carry water away from the house and neighbor on the dining room side of their house. That slope is now flattened to make room for the pool and putting green. Water is going to follow the easiest path and that tends to be downhill. I'm sure we will be seeing soon what things look like toward that one neighbor but for now I'm seeing red flags. My guess is that if they didn't do anything to improve the slope, water in the rear of the yard may end up pooling around the golf area or going across it to a lower area. The slope near the slide and coming toward the house is worrisome because it could now create leakage into the garage or their kitchen/dining. They might have installed piping underground along the edge of the patio, but I'm doubting it. For a pool it is nice enough (still not a fan of pools). There's just nothing natural about their backyard at all. It looks rather cramped. To me a pool is nicer when it is like an oasis that blends into the surroundings versus something slapped down like you are playing the Sims.