amarante

I am not an observant Jew but my grandmother was Orthodox so I couldn't quite understand what was going on either. You can actually make do with a regular kitchen as my grandmother did in a much smaller apartment sized kitchen but if you are Orthodox it is absolutely critical to live within walking distance of the synagogue. For the Orthodox Jews I know, the location is the absolute first criteria as everything else can be worked around but you have to live within walking distance of at least 10 adult males for the minyan - you don't need an actual building to house a synagogue but you do need 10 males for the observances to be "kosher". Based on the clothing she and her girls were wearing they also observed some relatively high levels of tzunias (modesty) as well since the girls and she were dressed in the typical long skirts that Orthodox girls wear and the mother had covered hair - although not completely covered as more stringent observers would have. Of course everyone should feel free to observe differently at the level they want - I don't observe anything at all - just interesting about the stress for the storyline on two sinks and two ovens to the exclusion of everything else that would normally be considered by an Orthodox Jew in terms of housing.

The prohibition against eating dairy or meat together - and then by extension needing to keep plates, utensils as well as ovens and sinks separate is from the following Mixtures of milk and meat (Hebrew: בשר בחלב, romanized: basar bechalav, lit. 'meat in milk') are forbidden according to Jewish law. This dietary law, basic to kashrut, is based on two verses in the Book of Exodus, which forbid "boiling a (goat) kid in its mother's milk"[1] and a third repetition of this prohibition in Deuteronomy.[2] I actually liked the third house the best as the paint could be easily changed although obviously it was never meant to be anyway. I was curious about the family as the only aspect of Orthodox Judaism that was discussed was a kosher style kitchen. In general Orthodox Jews need to be in certain areas because of the need for a minyan as well as the ability to walk to a synagogue on Shabbos as well as other important holidays when one is not allowed to drive.

Probably quite a bit as the drive was only about 1.5 hours or so which means it is super drivable for a weekend and Vermont is really an all season state since it is nice all seasons. When you have a second home that is that drivable people really tend to be able to use them like if you have a house at the Jersey Shore or a home in the Catskills. I would also mention the Long Island shore but the commute as well as the incredibly high prices for that area make it Sui generis. Even the Jersey Shore for people from New York City is pretty drivable for the weekend. What I really don't understand are people who buy vacation homes in destinations where you have to fly because the reality is that flying almost anywhere is one day there and one day back because you have to get to the airport - get there early enough - flight takes time and will probably be delayed - get off plane and possibly collect luggage - take ground transportation to your destination. And that is also exhausting and unpleasant so I can't imagine people doing it every weekend like you can do with a close vacation home. It also seems to somehow be done with people who claim that their life is too busy and so they have to "get away" and I wonder why they don't either take a 'staycation" or get a second home closer to them.

The information sent about HH is absolutely inscrutable. I have two DVR through Spectrum. One is an older model and one is a newer model (i.e. can record four programs at the same time versus the older one which can only record two). Both are programmed to record ONLY new programs and yet they pick up different episodes almost every night.

WWHL had a "poll" as to which was worse - a fashion show without fashion or a book party without a book. Consensus was obviously a fashion show without fashion because what was the point. Although it would have been better timing if the book had been available now, it is available for preorder the first week of February so it is reasonably proximate to this episode and even closer to the reunion episodes which will no doubt mention it in some way. The promotional value of essentially having a half hour devoted to the book included the cover being displayed prominently multiple times is extremely valuable. People might scoff at book covers but they are a HUGE selling point and when the book is displayed in its first week people will see the cover and make the connection. I am not saying that it is headed for best seller status and is the next Spare but I think it might sell better than some of the other housewife books. While I wouldn't call LSD a "cult" there are a lot of weird things associated with the religion including their underwear.

She was ordered to pay $6.5 million in restitution and an additional $6.5 in forfeitures so a significant amount. This follows her for at least 20 years AFTER she is released from prison and can't be discharged in bankruptcy.

They interviewed the ladies on the BRAVO After Show and they all are expressing the same thing - essentially what Jen did was awful - they don't believe for a nanosecond that Stuart was the mastermind - and that it is a "human" tragedy for the Shah family in terms of the boys. I do enjoy when Meredith shows that she really is a very smart woman instead of displaying her ridiculous vapidness. Her explanation of taking Jen's protestation of innocence at "face value" made perfect sense. So long as Jen was stating that she was innocent why would Meredith want to in any way dig below the surface or set herself up in any way for the authorities to think she knew anything beyond what was in the papers and that she never discussed it with Jen beyond that. For those who think Coach wasn't involved I think his texts are pretty damning in terms of at least what he knew in 2018 6/18/2018 – TEXT MESSAGES FROM JEN TO STUART IN REGARDS TO TESTIFYING FOR THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN THE “BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY SCHEME” … AND GETTING LEGAL ADVICE FROM COACH SHAH. “I’m putting all of the questions/answers in an excel doc and I’ll send it to you and you can practice it today.” “I emailed that to you…save it on your laptop and delete it from your email.” “You’re go to answer is I dont’ know, I don’t remember. I dont’ know is the best though bcuz if you don’t know, you don’t know.” “Sharrieff will help us on any questions we’re unsure of how to best answer or phrase it. I have a list to ask him about.” https://tasteofreality.com/rhoslc-jen-shah-evidence-prison-text-messages/

I thought the Chicago couple were such a breath of fresh air. I smiled so much when the woman loved the "outdated" kitchens because they reminded her of her childhood home. Normally I kind of despise the HH who want a certain style home because it reminds them of their childhood home because they generally want a specific style on the exterior but then want it to be whatever is trendy in the interior but both of these people just wanted a comfortable family home in reasonably good shape for their family. I hadn't caught their occupations but doesn't surprise me that they are a firefighter and teacher rather than a social media influencer like that really repulsive Colorado woman who had absolutely no awareness that you really can't have a "trendy" bathroom or kitchen unless you are wealthy or plan to move to new homes every few years because what is "trendy" will cease to be "trendy" in a few years. I thought it was hilarious that the husband commented that she had wanted "modern farmhouse" a few years previously and she would be on to the next thing in a few years. Are the Chicago "cop" neighborhoods politically conservative? I am familiar with them in New York City and Los Angeles and they tend to be oceans of red in otherwise very blue cities. In New York it would be Staten Island versus most other areas in the City

I guess if one's job doesn't require one to be in the office every day, you can deal with the commute. I worked for awhile at a job that was a longish commute off hours but a horrendous commute during rush hour which began at about 3 PM. I started work at 6 AM and left at 2 PM and just scheduled any face to face meetings during that time period. What I do wonder is when people move because they are now able to work remotely at their current jobs. What happens when they want to change jobs as not every job is remote and requiring that would limit job choices. Even a lot of the high tech industries which went remote during the pandemic are starting to require employees to be onsite a significant number of days.

In the introduction portion she said that she was not able to rent her first apartment essentially because of a Catch 22 - she didn't have a history of rental and she also didn't have sufficient credit history. Whether that is completely true or not, it made sense for these specific people to have the parents buy an investment property and then rent it out to the daughter for an amount that would cover costs - i.e. be more or less what they would charge for anyone. Seems like win win as the daughter gets to rent an apartment she can afford and the parents get to purchase an additional investment property which they can sell or continue to rent. The father indicated that it seemed logical for them to purchase a property since he already had several investment properties he was renting.

She was paying enough rent to cover the expenses. That is why the storyline was whether they would purchase something with a low purchase price so that she could afford to live alone or a larger place where she would be forced to take roommates to cover the cost. At the end, the father indicated that he required a security deposit plus rent paid on time. He also indicated that he thought the condo they chose was a good investment because it would easily be rented to the target audience. And he was correct - it was a "hip" loft in what seemed to be a desirable neighborhood for young adults and the carrying costs were low enough so that it would be affordable to either a single professional or a young married couple with no children. The condo wasn't particularly luxurious or lavish - As I recall it was about $160,000 and at least to me the girl wasn't making unreasonable demands based on her budget. They found something that was affordable in terms of the rent should could pay and that the father thought was a good investment for future rentals when she moved out.

The suits were being comped in exchange for the promotional value to the guy who was making them. And I doubt they were actually made because the "wedding" was supposed to occur 40 days after the date of that scene and she still isn't married. Maybe Juan scored a free suit out of it but I doubt the boys did because it is ridiculous to even buy a suit for a boy who has no occasion to wear it. Rent a damn tux for a one time wedding if necessary. My god but this show is boring. It has gone the way of BH and others where the reason for the beefs occur outside of the show and so they make up a stupid reason to be angry and/or the anger seems to come out of nowhere and/or the explanations for the trigger that we see on the show are ridiculous. Whether Charisse texted or went to the funeral and mentions it is not generally equivalent to insulting someone's mother.

I agree. She indicated that she was paying somewhat over a $1000 in rent which covered the costs of the condo. Both she and her father were very clear that the parents would not subsidize the cost of the condo (or house) and that she either had to pay the entire amount which she could do with a lower purchase price or get roommates to help cover the costs. I also don't think that she was particularly picky in terms of her choices - she was a young adult and understandably wanted to live in a certain area where other young adults lived and she wanted something that had some kind of interest - which the converted loft had. The father was very cognizant of making sure that it was a good investment for him since whenever she moved on, it would be a very attractive and easy rental for another young adult.

I totally agree with you as I would never opt to have a roommate if there was any alternative. I would especially not rent or buy a house that I couldn't afford and then have to find roommates. At that point it is equivalent to being a landlord and dealing with leases. I would definitely not be criticizing whether someone right out of college wants a roommate or doesn't want a roommate. As I wrote economically sometimes kids have no choice and sometimes kids have friends and it is a support system to live with their old friends from college. But it is weird to criticize someone who doesn't want "strange" roommates" and is in a position to find an inexpensive place that was affordable on their own. I can't imagine why anyone would criticize someone who specifically wanted an apartment they could afford on their own because it made sense logistically not to have to deal with strangers and also many people value their privacy and don't want to have to deal with someone else in their space when they come home.

Regarding the fashion show - and this is true of a lot of the housewives' charitable events, I really don't understand how they actually raise money. Where is the money coming from - surely no one is buying tickets the way it is done at galas; there was no auction or donations being sold. I guess theoretically there is some element of promotion like some of the events on BH - i.e. Jamie Lee Curtis' foundation which highlighted the foundation and showed items that could be purchased through their website. Even the ridiculous Homeless Not Toothless provided enough of a storyline so that it raised the visibility of the charity. There wasn't even any educational element in terms of providing some kind of even short talk about a specific disease or treatment. I have no idea what Meredith's foundation actually did except that it raised money because her nephew had a mental disease. While I do give to charity and support mental health, I would send my money to an already existing charity - e.g. a suicide hotline or equivalent. Not that I think it was a scam per se but if I want to donate to cancer, I will give to a reputable cancer organization which I have checked out in terms of its goals and how its funding is actually spent. I wouldn't give to a random charity that was mentioned on this show.

@Bastet There are some housing markets like Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City where it is literally impossible for even young adults to be able to afford their own apartment - hell even an apartment is unaffordable so it isn't a question of saving money - it is an impossibility. One of the reasons some kids have to live with parents in places like the Long Island or Jersey suburbs because of rental costs. When I graduated, I was able to rent a fabulous loft apartment on the outskirts of Greenwich Village with a panoramic view of Manhattan for the inflation adjusted rental of about $2500 month. That apartment would rent for $7000 or more at this point - out of reach for even relatively well paid young professionals starting out.

Lots of kids need roommates after college because of housing costs. I think she made the correct decision because who needs the hassle of finding roommates. I also think the loft condo was fine with the father as an investment as well as the best first place for an apartment. There are always going to be young singles who want a hip first apartment.

I don’t think she counted those books. She won when she found the loophole which allowed her to use total books from both years were in the same classroom.

Bianca Jagger rode a horse into Studio 54 in 1977 - I imagine that is a callback to that. I thought this was a sweet episode because of Melissa's interaction with Mya. It showed why Melissa is such an effective teacher even though her outward persona is so different than Barbara's who is much more a stereotype of the elementary school teacher.

I suspect this is a standard ploy by her attorneys to get sentence lowered. As I recall Joe Giudice also petitioned for this program.

Unfortunately they generally allow them to arrive anonymously in the dead of night as Tre did 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Not great optics - Jen is celebrating her victory https://pagesix.com/2023/01/06/jen-shah-celebrates-sentencing-with-lavish-dinner-party-for-20/?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=pagesix_news_alert&utm_content=20230106?&utm_source=sailthru&lctg=6079acd57030294703940d95&utm_term=P6 - News Alerts Jen Shah is celebrating her shorter-than-expected prison sentence for wire fraud with a Shah-mazing dinner party in New York City, Page Six has exclusively learned. The “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star, who learned her fate in a Manhattan court Friday morning, is dining and boozing with a group of 20 people at Italian hotspot Valbella at the Park in Midtown. Page Six is told that the convicted fraudster and her posse “are all eating and drinking” on the establishment’s second floor. Ron Richards who is an attorney who was involved with Erika Jayne's case tweets a lot of court documents regarding the housewives and just added this - I wonder if this will come back to haunt her The Court can correct its sentence within 7 days, here were Jen Shah's attorney's last words: She then goes out on a $4,500 + dinner for 20 people in Manhattan. "The moment she steps foot as a free woman she will have one duty, ... to make the people whole who lost money." Liar!

There are a limited number of woman's minimum security prisons in the Federal system and I think the one in Texas is the closest to Utah which means that her family would be able to visit more easily Elizabeth Holmes who headed Theranos will be incarcerated there Teresa was incarcerated at the Danbury facility which also housed the author of Orange Is The New Black.

Well you can't get blood from a stone so there has to be money or assets available. In order to ensure collection, they file liens and can enforce the judgment and seize assets. They would direct employers or others paying you to direct payments to the government. You have to file income tax every year and report income and if you aren't truthful that would be a crime as well. The lien is enforceable for twenty years after release from prison so that effectively covers most of her life and certainly most of the time when she might be earning income. I wonder if Coach's earnings are considered to be separate or joint assets if they are married. Normally salary is considered to be a joint asset during marriage.

Coach Shah made $632,199.94 in wages plus $89,387.27 in benefits for a total compensation package of $721,587.22 https://transparent.utah.gov/summary_page.php?type=ESUM&name=Shah%2CSharrieff&ent=University of Utah&titl=Associate Coach%2C Ath It is a LOT of money to be sure but it wouldn't have supported the kind of life style that Jen was flaunting.