Notabug

already answered

That Jill finds it necessary to compete with and WIN against her own children every single time is really horrible; those poor kids. Growing up in that sort of warped environment where one of the adults who is supposed to love and cherish and protect you when you're just a vulnerable kid; instead treats you like competition and insists on winning every contest is abusive, IMO. Mahmo gets the new clothes, the girls get to fight over the clothes she's done wearing. Then, the 'winners' get to wear poorly fitting ugly old lady clothes rather than stuff appropriate for their ages and activity. Mahmo seemingly has dozens of pairs of shoes. Yet, amongst the younger girls anyway, they seem to have no more than a pair or two of shoes, most of which are too big or inappropriate for the activity they are involved with. Or both.

When I was a kid, we had at least one dog most of the time. And, each dog took a shine to someone in the house as their special person; the one they followed around and slept with. It was usually whichever one of us took the pup for walks and played with it the most. I had a strong attachment to a Chihuahua named Duke when I was in grade school and he was 'my' dog, more or less. He sat next to me when we watched TV and slept on or under my bed every night. Other dogs picked other kids as favorites. The dogs didn't hate my parents or anything, they just always picked a kid as their favorite person. I am sure Jill would never let the kids get close enough to the dog for it to bond with any of them. I am sure Mahmo carries the dog around in a carrier and the kids aren't allowed to touch it, let alone play with it or walk it on a leash. I cannot imagine the meltdown Jill would have if the dog ever showed more affection for one of the kids than for her. Same reason all her kids have to assert that Mahmo is their best friend. Jill would tolerate nothing less.

I think she's got dark 'sun spots' all over her face from years of damage from lying in the sun or a tanning bed. Once the damage is done, exposure to the sun, especially without high SPF sunscreen, will bring them out and make them darker. Hence, her face looks dirty. She needs concealer and foundation to cover them up; along with SPF 50 or more and a wide brimmed hat.

So, even the dog has to love Jill the most and the best.

For someone who thought she was perfectly capable of making it to the summit because she is just that tough minded; Amy sure did spend a lot of time bringing up the rear moaning and groaning about how hard it was while allowing someone else to carry her pack for her. For her to not acknowledge that she was, in fact, the slowest and that this was unlikely to change which made her the weakest link in the push to get to the summit was just dumb. As for Therron eliminating Dusty because, at some point, several eliminations from now, Therron might be the slowest and get eliminated made no sense at all either. Maybe the lack of oxygen in the thin mountain air caused a brain cramp. As long as there are people who are slower, there's no reason for Therron to have thought he'd be the next to go. Except, of course, these people are all dopes who seemingly do not understand the nature of the game.

So, Dave bought her a new rug AND a pedigreed puppy for her birthday? Meanwhile, she's forcing her girls into thrift store rejects to try to make money. Hmm.... As for Jill and her furniture refinishing skills, she doesn't have a clue. Spray painting the handles while they're still on the dresser? Not sanding or otherwise preparing the surface to accept new paint? Then she has the nerve to talk about how they treat their furnishings with respect so they last a long time. No, Jill, you don't.

The format of the game on the show is just the same, although they stay within the US. Paired in teams of two, get clues as to destination and travel there and have to perform a physical or mental challenge to get the next clue. Last pair to finish is eliminated each leg.

I liked Jingle Bell Run for the most part, too. Ashley's blond hair was awful, but she did seem to be a little less smiley/giggly than in other films. I like Andrew Walker most of the time and wasn't surprised to like him here, even with the stubble. I'm also a fan of The Amazing Race which was obviously the model for the game show in the movie, so that was a point in its favor, too. The supporting cast was good and, all in all, it was not a bad flick.

Really wanted to like Confessions of a Christmas Letter since I’m a fan of Angela Kinsey from The Office; but, boy, what a mess of a movie it was! Way too frenetic, moving from scene to scene, character to character with little cohesion or connection. The characters were poorly drawn cartoons; no depth to any of them. I did appreciate the inside joke of Brian Baumgartner, Kevin from The Office, as a post office employee; but it made me a little sad that he and Angela have been reduced to making really awful Hallmark movies.

Kielbasa is a form of sausage and almost always paired with kraut. And usually with potatoes, often boiled with the kielbasa and kraut. My Polish family had it often for special occasions. Mac and cheese is a not something I've ever eaten with it, either.

In the midst of semi-watching Jingle Bell Run and my only thought at this point is that Ashley Williams' blond hair is a crime against humanity. Whoever thought that was a good idea should be shot. It does serve to distract me from the constant grinning, though. I kinda liked Christmas with the Singhs, probably mainly because I know people in similar situations who've had to figure out a way to accommodate two different cultures into their new family. That, and I just love the beautiful clothing. I'm shallow like that.

Then again, they are moving to Wiesbaden, which is filled with transient Americans, virtually all of whom are government employees. I am sure there is some sort of message board for military and civilians to buy and sell furniture and appliances as they come and go. They wouldn't have much trouble at all finding what they need or selling it when they go. The Ramstein/Wiesbaden US military complex is one of the largest bases in the world.

I found myself wondering why her mother hadn't done something sooner if she felt that Eve was too comfortable spending her mother's money. By age 35, people are pretty set in their ways and if this was something her mother was concerned about, it seemed like she could've tried to course correct before Eve was approaching middle age. As it was, it was kinda weird that everyone kept patting Eve on the back for her generosity when all the money to grant the wishes can from Eve's trust fund, started by her mother; who'd already threatened to take it away if she didn't change her ways. It isn't like Eve had much choice, especially considering she didn't seem to have a career or major ambition of her own.

I was thinking about where Jill obtained this sudden avalanche of clothing to sell. They were just on a grifting tour, I wonder if the 'sweet friends' at the churches they visited offered them clothing donations and Jill grabbed up everything they offered, all the while knowing that she would never wear used clothing and she could control access so the girls couldn't wear them either. A lot of churches collect clothing to give to the poor or for victims of fires or natural disasters. I could see Jill deciding that those donations were meant to benefit her.