ChristmasJones

I had a dream last night and the Browns were in it! A bunch of crazy stuff happened (as is common in dreams), but the highlight was I was using a computer to update the podcasts on my phone and Janelle was standing next to me. She could see my phone and after I pushed the update button on it, a podcast I had never listened to suddenly appeared on the app. It was Janelle's podcast. She asked me if I had listened to it and I said no. Christine was also in the dream. Apparently we all lived together in this huge home.

Is there a large group of people who a) want to look at other men's butt cracks and/or b) want to show off theirs? It seems um... different... than seeing a woman's cleavage ....?

But will there be flowers on the t-shirts? Inquiring minds want to know.

I have to admit when they showed the two blue kitchens next to each other (Mary and Bronwyn) I did really like Bronwyn's! Surprised me.

The false narrative of how broke they are has never aligned with the real estate and rental properties they've bought/lived in over the years, IMO. Yes, they may carry a lot of debt, and not make the best choices with how to spend money, but there had to be a strong cashflow somewhere, as we are no longer in the pre-2008 subprime lending world. I think folks underestimate how much they get paid from this show. No one has ever produced a verifiable document about their income. There is the often cited claim that they "took a big pay cut" to continue the series at some point. But, again, where is the basis? Contrast this to the Teen Mom world, where we did see from court records that Amber was pulling in $500K per year at one point. Now of course everyone will say that TLC is nothing like Teen Mom, but on what actual facts are these ideas based on? I just went to the Wiki and they have done a total of 196 episodes and 36 specials as of Dec 2023.

I have a proposal for the show when this ends. I would call it "Sister Wives Rewind" and it would feature Christine, Janelle, and Meri reacting to selected clips over the years - starting from the beginning. They would have to be together in the same physical space while doing this (or on a joint zoom call), and be prepared to give honest answers. The host would be someone who is very knowledgeable about Mormonism, polygamy, etc. I honestly think ratings would be through the roof for something like this. If they wanted to, they could create their own podcast/Youtube series like this and keep all the money for themselves. There are a ton of podcast hosts out there who are ex-Mormon who they could collaborate with. Folks like this- in this episode they talk about knowing Christine and Robyn when they were in their teens.

Any speculation on what it costs to live in the home they bought? In terms of yearly property taxes and utilities? I'll leave upkeep/repairs off the list because it appears they don't do that.

Its maddening to watch Statler and Dempsey.... how on earth did they think it would work doing this van life thing without any planning of actual details. The core foundation of this plan entails something that I think would make both people very unhappy over time - which is that one person is tasked with working a full-time job (ie, sitting at a laptop), while the other one is somehow supposed to keep themselves occupied. They are confined to this tiny little space. I mean, the bed becomes the desk. There isn't an equivalent amount of "work" for the non-working person to do when living in a tiny space like that. Not to mention how annoying it would be for both the worker and non-worker to be in that space while the worker works all day. The worker would feel constantly distracted and interrupted and the non-worker would feel bored. Not to mention how, over time, the worker would rightfully start to feel resentful and jealous knowing that the partner was out galavanting around enjoying the beautiful areas they've travelled to, while the worker must sit in a cramped space staring at a laptop all day. This entire set-up would require a much higher level of discipline and organization than most people would be able to stick with over time. So I don't fault either of them for "failing" at that. I think the premise was doomed from the start. Its one of those things that sounds great on paper - we'll have an awesome van and travel all over europe, and you can keep your job and work remote - but in actual day-to-day reality, its a completely different thing.

For Terri, I found it interesting that when the mother and daughter exchanged letters they had written to each other (as suggested by Dr. Z), about what they would like their relationship to be, the daughter's was several pages, while the mother's was a couple of sentences. Cognitive problems could be an element there, for sure (a neuropsych exam would be needed to determine that), but it seems Terri had longer term issues with expressing emotions, love, etc. Perhaps she never got (or chose to get) and proper help after the abusive marriage. She seems like a very damaged person who also treats others poorly. (I don't think the two necessarily have to go together). It was a pleasant surprise to see that the home has been maintained exactly as the team left it and she also managed to clear enough boxes from the garage so she park in there. I did not expect that. Perhaps this week has helped her shift out of some of her bad habits.

Because Sobbyn's life plan is to keep her kids at home for the rest of their lives. Why else buy such a huge home?

In terms of people like Janelle and Christine, who both sell MLM products (at least I think they both still do).... with folks like this, I think their "regular" social media posts are part of their need to draw eyeballs for their "business". Janelle has never seemed comfortable being a self-promoter type - recall her photos of her meals while she was supposedly a health coach.

My takeaway from this episode...... drum roll please..... make sure you're sitting down......this is going to be completely revelatory and shocking..... you may need a shot of something or a xanax tablet before you continue reading...... prepare yourself............ these people are completely dead-ass boring...... the only thing that made this show worth watching was when they weren't getting along with each other*...... thanks and I'll show myself out..... * “All drama is conflict. Without conflict, you have no action; without action, you have no character; without character, you have no story; and without story, you have no screenplay.” ― Syd Field, Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting Paperback – November 29, 2005

What part of North Carolina is this in? Hopefully not the area affected by the hurricane.

Will Christine's husband's income factor into this? Or is each parent's finances treated separately? What if Christine made more income than Kody- would that affect how much he has to pay?

If anyone is curious about the orange camera Statler used in this episode - here it is - https://instax.co.uk/cameras/square-sq1/ - it appears they sell an orange one in the UK, but not in the US.