S07.E03: Thanksgiving: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

[Kiss my mutt]

I get janelles unethused reaction to helping meri decorate. She sort of tried. But why doesn't she suggest something she and Meri can do together?  She just has zero motivation at all. Her stomach is going to swallow her some day. I was surprised to see photos of her when she was younger looking slim. And meri was downright skinny. Now she's a bloated mess with weird orange peel skin. I think janelle is prettyish in a way Meri could never be even if she lost weight. 

[CofCinci]

If producers didn't need a "storyline", I could easily see Jenelle and Meri having absolutely zero relationship/contact with each other - outside of polite hellos during an event for one of the children. 

Stop trying to make fetch happen. 20 years of bad blood and hurt isn't going to disappear with faux therapy and crafts. 

[toodles]

16 minutes ago, missy jo said:

I just watched an hour of bitter sister wives making decorative centerpieces. I need to reassess my life. 

I feel the same way.  I'm going to find the nearest mirror and give myself a good talking to.  A very stern talking to.

[notnowimbusy]

OMG Janelle looked so outside her comfort zone it was painful.  WHY suggest something you have no clue about, you don't like to do, and have no idea how to execute???  For years I put on every holiday at my home.  My SIL could care less, just liked coming to the event, eat and see the relatives.  If I ever asked her to get involved it would have been nightmare.  Janelle doesn't like this kind of thing, doesn't like interacting with the other wives, so it's clear this was for the show.  My gosh, she look how long it took her to decide if she wanted to buy that damn wreath.  She has no interest, no problem, but don't push it.

YUCK Kody and the lights.  Who cares???   The only thing was watching Christine fall all over him, curry favor, and having him to herself.  With all the strife in that family, Christine was jumping on her chance to be the "normal" wife. 

If I had planned an event for 68 people, making the food, decorating the house, etc. and my husband came in to give his opinion, he would be in the oven with one of the turkeys.  I just can't stand him, his attitude, his ego, anything about him.  What do these women see in him???? 

This did smack of a school fundraising dinner, with all the volunteers giving their opinion, and nothing coming out like it should, but good enough to pull off.  When they spoke of other plig families having separate Thanksgivings, despite what Janelle said, I think each of them would be perfectly happy having Kody one on one at their own homes and not have to fake it.

Edited May 24, 2016 by notnowimbusy

[islandgal140]

6 hours ago, MaryMitch said:

(I believe it is a "she", but I'm going to stick with "he" for this...) They said they contacted him and spoke to him, but he refused to speak on Skype or Facetime. They did not play his actual voice, so I'm assuming he refused to give permission to tape his part of the conversation. They also did not show any pictures of him other than those on his web site.

Also, Meri is sticking to the "I thought he was a friend, then it got weird and scary" story. She will NEVER admit that she was hoping for a way out of her horrible "marriage" and that she was emotionally attached to him.

 

6 hours ago, ChicksDigScars said:

To which everyone nods knowingly. Not wanting to appear on Facetime or Skype? Gee, because he's a SHE. And she's a troll? Go figure. 

Low life. What the show forgot to mention when explaining what a "catfish" is, is that they are also bottom feeders. 

I will admit to taping the catfishing special, however, in the first 1-2 minutes when the host said and I quote "Websters defines catfishing as..." WTF kinda high school journalism is that? I was done.  Deleted without watching with extreme prejudice. 

[scrambled eggs]

22 hours ago, windtrix said:

These are the most boring people ever!!!! Twenty minutes on lights, twenty minutes on decorations and twenty minutes on children sharing a bedroom. Bleccchhh!

Yep. And then about 2 minutes on Thanksgiving, most of which involved moving tables.

Also, I'm glad Kody let us know Thanksgiving is a really American holiday. I had no idea.

Edited May 24, 2016 by scrambled eggs
bad grammar

[Madding crowd]

This show is so boring. The craft thing reminded me of when I was a room mom. There was always one mom who said she wanted to be involved, came up with no ideas, said she had no time to do anything, then showed up at the room parties complaining about everything I worked hard on. Janelle came up with the idea of working together, then 'checked out' without giving one idea to Meri. i don't see Meri at fault here. 

I wasn't sure if I wanted to come back to this thread because I really have a problem with the sheer volume of hatred directed at Meri and the constant comments that she and Mariah are "ugly". People can't do anything about how their faces look. Kody's hair on the other hand is fair game.

I dislike all of the adults equally, but I keep coming back to the kids seeming to be very happy and mostly well adjusted. So, they are doing 1,000 times better than the Duggars. But, please no more episodes of Kody making it seem like he is doing rocket science by hanging up a few lights, or drama over table decorations. 

In order to make the show more interesting, they have to move everyone back in together. Queen Robyn would never allow that though. I am pretty sure Asypn moved in with her because Robyn is too delicate to do anything and requires huge amount of help. 

Janelle continues to bug me with her robotic personality. I know she can't help it, but she is not made for TV viewing. I really would like to know what these women (and Kody) do all day besides filming this show. 

[andromeda331]

11 hours ago, toodles said:

I doubt Janelle gave two shits about this craft project.  I know the point of the story was it will be the last time the family will be together and family is so important; lather, rinse repeat.  But Janelle is not domestic and has said so many times.  I think she is taking one for the team by going along with this idea.  I think part of this is keeping Meri busy and out of trouble.  Fussing over table settings, napkin rings and stuff like that seems like a big waste of time as well as money.  Nobody cares after 5 seconds in to the meal.  I had the same thought about the lites.  Who cares and what a huge waste of time.  This kind of crap is that people with a lot of time on their hands do.  I realize this is their "job", but it's about as exciting as watching a PBS pledge drive.  

One thought I had about hanging the lights.  If the ring that held the lights last time was too small, it will be too small this time too.  Go to home depot and get a bigger one. I'm just sayin'.   And who cares how long it takes.  Two days, nine hours, five years.  WHO CARES!!!

Heh, you now have me wondering now every time they do something with Meri its really code for watching or babysitting her so she doesn't get catfished or something else that could derail the TLC money. This time it "Craft Project" and its Janelle's turn.

[mbutterfly]

So when you're "called" to your husband's planet he writes it out instead of saying it?

[kimaken]

16 hours ago, kassa said:

Robin constantly asking Sol if he wanted this or that has been a theme this year.  Christine did it too, with Truely.  I think it partially can be explained by trying to play out a scene with a non-verbal kid.  

All I could think when watching Christine these last two episodes is that she is getting laid. Antidepressants and sex. She loves the man.  I don't understand it, but she loves him, and they appear to be in a very good place.  

I was giving Meri the benefit of the doubt because she was saying all the right things about working with Janelle (and I understand what people are saying about Janelle really not pulling her weight in the prep dept), but we see Janelle in a talking head saying she knew Meri took a breath and didn't say what she REALLY wanted to say when she saw Janelle's spraypainted veggie can attempts.  She gave Meri credit for that.  And then they cut to the scene, which one would have expected a cheery Meri (okay, maybe not, but a moderately pleasant Meri) saying "great, you did those, let's do this and this now!" Or maybe a weak smile and nothing.

But what we saw was Meri lean over, pick one up, scowl at it, and mutter "well, it's only for this one day... I guess... yeah, it's fine."  And stand up without looking at Janelle or making any effort to show any kind of encouragement.  Like "Did you like spraypainting? It's tough but it's more fun the more you do it" or "thank you for doing those -- I've been doing x and y and now everything's ready to go" -- any of the sort of social exchange you learn to facilitate conversations with strangers or difficult relatives.  

I mean, I wouldn't expect a litany of praise like she was a kid who just made her first macaroni necklace, but that was RUDE.  It's one thing that you don't have the kind of sisterly relationship where you can outright say "damn, why didn't you call for HELP, these SUCK!" and you both laugh.  But if you don't have that, you have to mask your disapproval.  Even just a tiny bit.  

I take this as very small baby steps. Meri's not going to change overnight after one therapy session. The fact that she didn't say something snide shows she is working on this, but it's going to take her a long while to get to the point where she can be a cheerleader for Janelle. And Janelle's the same--taking small steps but making an effort to participate more. I applaud both ladies for taking these tiny steps towards a better relationship and hope they continue to make progress.

[ChicksDigScars]

Snicker. Maybe the guy holds up a card on a stick with the wife's name on it? Like at a political convention? 

I'm willing to bet that Christine has some big men on her side of the family. The adult women (Christine and her older daughters) are taller and stocky, and seem to struggle with weight, but Paedon is GIGANTIC. He towers over his father, which is funny as hell. 

[LilWharveyGal]

Can anybody explain to me what kind of paint they were spraying on the cans?  At first I thought Janelle's cans just weren't painted, and that that was the problem, but Meri's didn't look painted to me either.  Were they "painting" with a gloss or glitter, or was it just a very light color?  

(Please pardon my ignorance.  I'm just a sad monogamist without a Party City rewards card or a wet bar craft space.)

[laurakaye]

Kody:

I am going to string cables between all of the houses.  Cables.  Lots of cables.  Cables get tangled and I have to untangle them.  It takes a long time to untangle cables, but Hunter will love it.  It's windy.  I am going to stand on a ladder to hook the cables which took a long time to untangle.  It's windy on this ladder.  I am going to stand against the wind on this ladder hooking up my cables that took a long time to untangle.  Hunter will love these cables.  It's really hard to connect these untangled cables on a ladder in the wind.  But Hunter.  Will love them.

I cannot believe I sat through that.  And I'm only 15 minutes into the show.  I turned it off after a riveting 3 minutes watching Meri and Janelle contemplate painted tin cans.  I'm not sure how much more cuddle-sac excitement I can take at this point.

I recall, on a SW season long ago, the Brown family celebrating "Joseph Smith Day" in place of Thanksgiving, which they didn't celebrate...or am I remembering incorrectly?  I know they had a big family feast, headed by Christine, and I'd swear it took the place of another holiday.  If this is true, then once again the Browns maneuver the rules to fit what they believe that week.

And did I hear Kody say in the previews that he was taking the entire family to Hawaii?  I might have been dozing by that time, but who is paying for that?

Edited May 24, 2016 by laurakaye

[SongbirdHollow]

What about the part when Kody complains about the tables and Meri throws Christine under the bus? "It's easier when Kody isn't mad at me." WTF?

[kimaken]

22 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

And did I hear Kody say in the previews that he was taking the entire family to Hawaii?  I might have been dozing by that time, but who is paying for that?

I heard that, too--and I believe TLC is funding yet another Brown family vacation--because,  you know, they all WORK so hard,,,

[laurakaye]

My husband and I have been trying to go to Hawaii for 20 years, and there's only two of us!  And TLC is paying for all 275 Browns to go there?!

Kody will be in his glory, accosting all the surfer dudes to tell them he has four wives.

[Higgins]

The decorations looked tacky to me.

[islandgal140]

22 minutes ago, SongbirdHollow said:

What about the part when Kody complains about the tables and Meri throws Christine under the bus? "It's easier when Kody isn't mad at me." WTF?

What a punk bitch move. That was low down and dirty. So much for sister wife solidarity. Seems as if Christine is one of the few who get it because she willingly fell on the sword after Meri stabbed her with it. Not that this was the biggest deal ever because what a dumb ass thing to lie about but for a sister wife so deep in the doghouse (might has well rename her Shaggydog) it was a shitty move. 

Paedon sounds like it should be the name of a cartoon dinosaur in a Disney Pixar movie.

Just watching all the action preparing a Thanksgiving meal for 70 gives me heartburn. My guests would be lucky to not be eating out of a trough let alone elaborate place settings and festive decorations. 70 people? Best believe that will be a potluck event. Anyone showing up empty handed is gonna have a problem with me. I guess it is easier for them since they have so damn many gatherings, so many extra hands and those TLC checks. 

OMG, yes to the WTH'llery of Robyn asking King Solomon's permission to split the room, paint the room, share with his sister. He seems like a sweet enough kid now, but I shudder to think what all that kowtowing and catering to him will do his personality especially in light of last season during their Alaskan vacation one of the kids tried to discipline the lil King and Kody snapped at him. 

Christine seemed forcefully and manically happy last season as if she were trying to prove something. This season her happiness strikes me as more genuine. Her and Kody really do seem more comfortable together. And not because I think Kody grew or anything. Christine just realized his limitations or let it go OR what is more likely Christine is just he beneficiary of not screwing up like Meri. LOL!

Kody really should've stopped at 3 wives. Not just because of my active dislike of Robyn but because it has seemed that since the beginning it appears he can only maintain a semblance of a good relationship with only 3 out of the 4 at any given time. Robyn is of course the mainstay but the other 3 (Janelle to a lesser extent because she probably gives 0 fucks) cycle on and off his shit list with Meri being probably destined to remain there as she has basically made him look less the desirable stud he knows himself to be.  LOL!

[Kellyee]

This show is so weird. Meri tried to escape her marriage, and would have left if it wasn't a catfish. Janelle DID apparently escape her marriage a while back for about 3 years. None of the kids, except maybe Mariah, have any interest in polygamy. the Browns cling to polygamy, even though they are clearly not religious people. So let's make napkin rings and talk about the "Sister Wife Code"! Christine is excessively cheerful, Robyn just looks tired, Janelle is completely checked out, and I wouldn't be surprised if Meri is still online dating. But at least there are lights in the cul-de-sac! And a new baby and a wedding at the same time!! And no mention of the Sister Wives Closet business, why Aspyn can't stand to live with her own mother, or what Meri's real relationship is with Kody right now.

[RazzleberryPie]

5 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

Heh, you now have me wondering now every time they do something with Meri its really code for watching or babysitting her so she doesn't get catfished or something else that could derail the TLC money. This time it "Craft Project" and its Janelle's turn.

Makes sense to me. Like when my husband, who is an engineer, with his Nonna and her SIL for a few years after college to 'save money' and 'because he couldn't cook' - he was actually helping them with expenses and from being scared at night as two elderly women living in a huge house alone.

[laurakaye]

34 minutes ago, Kellyee said:

This show is so weird. Meri tried to escape her marriage, and would have left if it wasn't a catfish. Janelle DID apparently escape her marriage a while back for about 3 years. None of the kids, except maybe Mariah, have any interest in polygamy. the Browns cling to polygamy, even though they are clearly not religious people. So let's make napkin rings and talk about the "Sister Wife Code"! Christine is excessively cheerful, Robyn just looks tired, Janelle is completely checked out, and I wouldn't be surprised if Meri is still online dating. But at least there are lights in the cul-de-sac! And a new baby and a wedding at the same time!! And no mention of the Sister Wives Closet business, why Aspyn can't stand to live with her own mother, or what Meri's real relationship is with Kody right now.

And this is what drives me crazy - so many storylines that they will continue to ignore because it paints polygamy in a less than desirable light, even as they tell us at the beginning of each show: "This lifestyle is awesome, makes each of us better, etc."  How is it awesome?  Why did Meri try to leave with her online boyfriend?  Why is Janelle overweight and checked out?  What happened to dressing modestly and holding a family church service every week?  Why are none of the Brown children following the lifestyle?  Isn't a benefit of having sister wives that they can help raise each other's children?  Why is this no longer happening?  Why do both Christine and Robyn need live-in help?  Why was Christine so upset that Kody helped Robyn choose a wedding dress?  What, exactly, is the Sister Wives' Code?

If the family would actually answer any of these questions, instead of pretending like everything is unicorns and glitter, I would be extremely interested.  That's why I started watching this show in the first place - these women, any of whom could be my neighbor or co-worker or friend - living a lifestyle I didn't understand, but wanted to understand.  And season after season, they take the biggest issues and hurdles associated with living polygamy and pretend they don't exist.

[Absolom]

Ratings have dropped a bit more: 1.234 M viewers and a .35 rating. 

[ChicksDigScars]

Lucky Maddie. The way that the ratings are going, she'll be the only one to get a wedding on TLC's dime. Sorry Mariah. I guess you'll blame that on your mother, too. 

[ghoulina]

15 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

I wasn't sure if I wanted to come back to this thread because I really have a problem with the sheer volume of hatred directed at Meri and the constant comments that she and Mariah are "ugly". People can't do anything about how their faces look. Kody's hair on the other hand is fair game.

Well, people CAN do something about how their faces look, to a degree. I've said this before, but I thought Meri was pretty cute when the show started. And it's not the weight gain that has changed my opinion. She has fried out her hair and I hate the way she styles it. She also doesn't have the best skin, which is not her fault, but she makes it worse by piling 10 lbs of makeup on and turning herself the color of pumpkin. Meri COULD be a lot prettier, but for whatever reason she insists on doing damage to both her hair and skin. 

[b2H]

18 hours ago, toodles said:

I just watched an hour of bitter sister wives making decorative centerpieces. I need to reassess my life. 

and, I understand, on Sunday, we get two whole hours of this nonsense - probably almost all of it of the Thanksgiving dinner from h&ll.  I suspect there are precious few of the adults who would be able to say what they're thankful for with a straight face, if asked.

 

Edited to add:  didn't realize the dinner from h&ll had already taken place.  What in Heaven's name will they do for two hours on Sunday, then?

Edited May 24, 2016 by b2H
Not paying attention

[Palomar]

Quote

I agree. I used to think Jenelle was depressed. Now I think she's just lazy and manipulative. She seems unaware of the basic work needed to put on a holiday party for 70-ish people, and she just wanders around, pretending to "help."

OR the TLC folks are giving her a very bad edit. 

As someone who is NOT the artsy crafty type myself and who is very bored by the process, I think that Janelle just has no desire to do any of that.  In the past she was the one who was working all day and other sister wives did any necessary decorating so it was also a matter of not having time. I don't see it as being lazy....more like capitalizing on people's strengths and weaknesses. Janelle would much rather work (someone had to). In the past, Meri would probably rather decorate (now she has her catfishing enterprise and fallout going down so maybe she has less time and interest for decorating as well).   

[Adeejay]

5 hours ago, laurakaye said:

I recall, on a SW season long ago, the Brown family celebrating "Joseph Smith Day" in place of Thanksgiving, which they didn't celebrate...or am I remembering incorrectly?  I know they had a big family feast, headed by Christine, and I'd swear it took the place of another holiday.  

Much to Christine's dismay, King Kody has decreed that his family will no longer celebrate Joseph Smith's birthday. 

[DakotaJustice]

16 minutes ago, Adeejay said:

Much to Christine's dismay, King Kody has decreed that his family will no longer celebrate Joseph Smith's birthday. 

they celebrated Chaunaka (sp) (!!!) instead.  I remember it as one of the few times a green vegetable actually showed up on the table (artichokes, which Christine didn't know how to prepare...)

[kassa]

8 hours ago, kimaken said:

I take this as very small baby steps. Meri's not going to change overnight after one therapy session. The fact that she didn't say something snide shows she is working on this, but it's going to take her a long while to get to the point where she can be a cheerleader for Janelle. 

To me, she DID say something very snide, and amazingly, Janelle was grateful at how minor the comment was.  That struck me as sad -- that Janelle praises Meri's restraint, but when we see her actual reaction, it was one that would be outright offensive to just about anybody who wasn't already beat down.

The wacky name thing, I suspect, is as much a way of giving a kid an identity in a gigantic extended family as anything else.  If you've got 50-something siblings, and 300 cousins, being Paedon makes it easier for your grandparents to remember you than being one of 20 Bills.

I noticed for the first time in one of the homes the artwork where all of their names were painted on a board as The Brown family, and one of the names was Robert.  Who the heck is Robert?

[Madding crowd]

47 minutes ago, Palomar said:

As someone who is NOT the artsy crafty type myself and who is very bored by the process, I think that Janelle just has no desire to do any of that.  In the past she was the one who was working all day and other sister wives did any necessary decorating so it was also a matter of not having time. I don't see it as being lazy....more like capitalizing on people's strengths and weaknesses. Janelle would much rather work (someone had to). In the past, Meri would probably rather decorate (now she has her catfishing enterprise and fallout going down so maybe she has less time and interest for decorating as well).   

Janelle was the one who suggested they decorate together though. I'm sure Meri would have been happy to just do the decorations alone, but Janelle asked to help.

1 hour ago, ghoulina said:

Well, people CAN do something about how their faces look, to a degree. I've said this before, but I thought Meri was pretty cute when the show started. And it's not the weight gain that has changed my opinion. She has fried out her hair and I hate the way she styles it. She also doesn't have the best skin, which is not her fault, but she makes it worse by piling 10 lbs of makeup on and turning herself the color of pumpkin. Meri COULD be a lot prettier, but for whatever reason she insists on doing damage to both her hair and skin. 

I'm glad we don't all have to be on tv and criticized for every detail of how we look. Just my opinion but I have my faults and accept that other people do too. Yes, you can have plastic surgery etc, but why can't we just accept people for how they look? There is plenty to snark on regarding behavior without judging other women for their looks. My opinion of course.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Madding crowd

[DakotaJustice]

26 minutes ago, kassa said:

I noticed for the first time in one of the homes the artwork where all of their names were painted on a board as The Brown family, and one of the names was Robert.  Who the heck is Robert?

Robert is Garrison.

[DakotaJustice]

On ‎5‎/‎22‎/‎2016 at 6:59 PM, MelissaMinion said:

I agree. I used to think Jenelle was depressed. Now I think she's just lazy and manipulative. She seems unaware of the basic work needed to put on a holiday party for 70-ish people, and she just wanders around, pretending to "help."

OR the TLC folks are giving her a very bad edit. 

I've always considered Janelle as lazy, and her weight doesn't have much to do with that assessment.

Even in the very first shows, when the producers spun it as Janelle getting up early to drive a long distance to her job etc.  I tended to see it this way:

Janelle gets to go to an office everyday, sit on her keister, push papers, socialize with her coworkers, go out for lunch, eat office snacks and drink office coffee, have time to herself, maybe do a little shopping at noon or whatever, having all that freedom while working a soft admin job...

While Christine (and Logan) feed and care for her offspring in her absence.  Christine more than likely never got to go anywhere other than the grocery store, and Logan had to get up early, make breakfast, wake up his sibs, get them ready for school, go to school himself, and babysit after school until his mom made her way home late in the evening.

In Vegas, we see a lot of Janelle sitting on her keister (except the two seasons she was working out with Trainers Bill and/or Sean), looking bored and out of it, picking at cookie sheets of peanut butter Fritos, and looking depressed.

I have my doubts on how much time she actually spends doing real estate.  Last time I checked, she had no listings in her name, and only 7 (I think?) sales total since she started this 4 years ago.

[MamaMax]

I see the Jenelle v. Meri decorating face-off this way: Jenelle thought they were going to brain storm ideas. Meri has already made everything and says: OK?  Jenelle thinks to herself: This will NEVER change.  Jenelle thinks: I want to like her, but I JUST DON'T. Jenelle gets sad. Meri is happy, she got her own way. The end.

[Misslindsey]

Quote

I find it interesting that according to her Twitter, Mariah has become a self identified feminist. She's now a Bernie supporting liberal. I wonder how that ties in to her desire for a polygamist lifestyle...

I am somewhat assuming Janelle is a liberal also, just by the people she followed (or used to follow I haven't looked at her followings recently) on Twitter.

I am actually fine with Mariah being pissed at her mom and really do not care that she is venting on television. The whole situation is incredibly messy. I would be pissed at my parent if they could not man up and get out of their marriage (or in this case long term relationship) before basically having an emotional affair with intentions to turn it into a physical relationship if they actually met, but the person isn't in fact a wealthy, good-looking man that is not going to save said parent. So now they intend to stay in what seems to be an unhappy marriage. I think Mariah has a right to be angry, but then again, any sympathy I had for Meri came and went awhile ago.

[Featherhat]

IMHO I think it's ok for even adult kids to be shocked and upset sometimes when their parents break up or consider doing so (as Meri was certainly doing). It's your whole life until now and that can be a head trip (even if it truly is for the best for everyone), never mind what other personal head trips Mariah has had to deal with recently with the divorce/"just legal paperwork for adoption" marriage (followed swiftly by "legal" baby no 2 20 years her junior. She may well have no idea where her own head is at. She was the brattiest of the teens but if you'd filmed my teen years I probably would have appeared as a shit show. She's still in college and it seems to have matured her somewhat and is exploring different ways of life. She didn't high tail it to Utah to marry the first suitable Pro Polygamy boy she met. Her support for Bernie Sanders might be a phase or it might not. But for all the drama over her going to Westminster whilst everyone else went to State Schools (which is for the record, still unfair, at least she appears likely to finish a course.

[MelissaMinion]

5 hours ago, ghoulina said:

Well, people CAN do something about how their faces look, to a degree. I've said this before, but I thought Meri was pretty cute when the show started. And it's not the weight gain that has changed my opinion. She has fried out her hair and I hate the way she styles it. She also doesn't have the best skin, which is not her fault, but she makes it worse by piling 10 lbs of makeup on and turning herself the color of pumpkin. Meri COULD be a lot prettier, but for whatever reason she insists on doing damage to both her hair and skin. 

Plus all the scowling. 

[toodles]

10 hours ago, LilWharveyGal said:

Can anybody explain to me what kind of paint they were spraying on the cans?  At first I thought Janelle's cans just weren't painted, and that that was the problem, but Meri's didn't look painted to me either.  Were they "painting" with a gloss or glitter, or was it just a very light color?  

(Please pardon my ignorance.  I'm just a sad monogamist without a Party City rewards card or a wet bar craft space.)

Oh the horror!!  I hope you have stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors and granite countertops.  Otherwise, your life is meaningless.

I watch too much house hunters.  Sorry.

[CofCinci]

2 minutes ago, toodles said:

Oh the horror!!  I hope you have stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors and granite countertops.  Otherwise, your life is meaningless.

I watch too much house hunters.  Sorry.

Don't forget the wet bar. 

[Kiss my mutt]

I think most of the boys are ugly too. Do I have to be pretty and flawless in order to call someone ugly? Indeed, I do not. And I accept that they're ugly. I don't dislike them for that. 

[athousandclowns]

From what I could determine she took aluminum shinny cans and sprayed them mat gray.    Meri had cleaned out Michaels and Beverly's of a ton of polyester flowers and fall leafs.  She had wood napkin rings that  they hot glued with a polyester flower and glitter ribbon.  Is it a move up from Bell jars and burlap?  Jury is out.  Retired floral designer here.   Meri told her she was going not do it by herself that she needed help. She could have cranked those out while watching tv in an evening.  

I was surprised about the two turkeys to equal 50lbs. Don't you figure a lb for each person? 

The way I saw the Kody / table scene was he was ragging on Meri for the long table and she wanted to shut it down and told him Christine told her to do it.  I didn't think she was throwing her under the bus just shutting Kody down. 

Sorry Meri you didn't get to say he was a friend that you that you send bathtub pictures or eating a banana. 

A trip to Hawaii brother. 

[Snarklepuss]

I actually found this episode interesting from the point of view of personality differences.  If Janelle wants to feel closer to Meri, going outside her comfort zone that much is not the way to do it.  She needs to find common ground with her.  I doubt they're so opposite that they have nothing to connect on, it's just that a crafts project is just about the farthest thing from something that Janelle can connect with Meri on.  It just amazes me that Janelle would think that participating in something she has no ability or interest in with Meri is going to work toward the end of building any kind of relationship with her.  I think Janelle thinks she has to be like the other wives in order to fit in with them.  I thought she was learning with the therapist to appreciate what makes Meri different from her.  That also involves appreciating her own differences, not trying to change herself to be more like them.  Plus she needs an understanding of what makes her different from the others. 

One thing I learned from studying personality theory is that knowing what makes me different and why I am different from other people helps me to accept those differences as equally valid and not heap blame upon myself for not being into certain things like "everyone else is".  Janelle should know and accept her limitations with certain things.  Working on a craft project with crafty types does not involve a board meeting with a PowerPoint to plan out the pros and cons of each approach before doing anything.  It involves having an idea in your mind about what you want and going out to find it.  If she has no ideas then she should admit that and leave it to the people who have them.  I don't think she likes being in that "subordinate" role.  She wants to participate in the decision making on an equal basis.  Well, as others have pointed out, if she doesn't have the same skill level in that type of thing she won't be able to and why force herself if she's only going to come up short?  It's only going to widen the chasm between them, not overcome it.  She made herself look worse not better.  She came off as lazy and uninterested - well duh, it's not her thing.  If the roles were reversed Meri would have no problem saying, "Janelle I want to work with you but give me something I can handle doing".  I don't think Meri would expect herself to do stuff she had no ability to do.  If I were Janelle I wouldn't have picked a crafts project to try to get involved in.  Or she should have picked the least difficult thing for her to handle and volunteer to make that her little piece of the project.  The paint cans was I suppose toward that end, but even that was too outside her comfort zone.

What gets me is that women tend do this to themselves.  Men tend to be what they are and they don't expect themselves to be all things to all people, or live up to some sort of expectation that other men have of them because other men usually don't have those high expectations of themselves or each other.  I spent so many years when I was young thinking there was something wrong with me because I wasn't a "Suzy Homemaker" type, but thankfully studying personality theory helped me to embrace the fact that not everyone is cut out to be that and that I had other strengths that were equally as valuable that perhaps those homemaker types did not have.  My SIL always saw me as inadequate, antisocial or "lazy" when it just wasn't my thing to give huge parties for 35 plus people or stay home all day decorating and crafting.  Did I have to be that in order to be valuable?  She couldn't possibly appreciate the strengths I did have.  She didn't even see those strengths or give me credit for them.  Thankfully over the years her expectations of me have relaxed and I don't get that feeling from her anymore.  Plus I have actually developed more of my homemaker side in the past decade or so.  But does her opinion of me really matter?  No, it shouldn't.  If she can't accept me for who I am that's her problem.  I do not need to be like her to be acceptable, and thankfully my studies in personality theory helped me to realize that.  Janelle needs to learn that lesson and not expect herself to be a homemaker type if that's just not her.  Unfortunately, in her culture that's a tough one since their religion forces the women into seeing some kind of 1950s homemaker role as the ideal for them.

Edited May 25, 2016 by Snarklepuss

[ghoulina]

15 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

I'm glad we don't all have to be on tv and criticized for every detail of how we look. Just my opinion but I have my faults and accept that other people do too. Yes, you can have plastic surgery etc, but why can't we just accept people for how they look? There is plenty to snark on regarding behavior without judging other women for their looks. My opinion of course.

Well, because this is a snark board? I don't know.....I figure if you put yourself on TV, you open the door for all kinds of criticism. Again, I (personally) don't like to snark on physical appearance that someone has no control over. But if you bronze your face to the point that I would lose you in a pumpkin patch, that's a choice - and I think it's just as fair game as criticizing Meri's choice to whine over a wetbar. 

FTR. I comment on Kody's crazy hair probably more than any of the other appearances put together. 

[Aethera]

OK folks, that's enough discussion of whether we should be discussing their looks. You're allowed to discuss their looks, and as long as you don't get really nasty, I'm fine with it. The kids, we ask that you leave alone, but the adults, it's fine.

[laurakaye]

16 hours ago, DakotaJustice said:

Robert is Garrison.

Really?  Is Garrison his middle name?  Robert is an awfully common first name for this family.

And Paedon's name has always bugged me, because Christine seemed to be doing a "thing" where every child in her family has a "Y" in their name...Ysabel, Truely, Aspyn, Mykelti, Gwendlyn...and then she doesn't spell Paedon "Paydon."  I mean, why the heck not continue the trend with a name that could very easily have a "Y" in it?  Y not?

[ginger90]

The "catfisher" is a "perp" to Meri. I don't know why this strikes me as strange wording:

[ghoulina]

1 hour ago, laurakaye said:

Really?  Is Garrison his middle name?  Robert is an awfully common first name for this family.

He's Jenelle's, though, and she seems to have picked the more "normal" names in the family. Logan, Madison,Hunter, Garrison (Robert), Gabriel, and Savannah. The first three are super common, and the rest (except maybe Garrison) aren't super off the wall. 

17 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

The "catfisher" is a "perp" to Meri. I don't know why this strikes me as strange wording:

And her catfisher was the one who told her what it means? TM Mama Dawn, but that don't make no sense. Her catfisher still hasn't admitted to what she's done, correct? So it's not like she told Meri, "There is no Sam. I am Sam. I'm what you would call a Catfish, and I have been fooling you this entire time". 

It sucks what JO did, but quit playing so innocent Meri. 

[Snarklepuss]

42 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

The "catfisher" is a "perp" to Meri. I don't know why this strikes me as strange wording:

What's even stranger is calling her MY perp, LOL. 

[ghoulina]

7 minutes ago, Snarklepuss said:

What's even stranger is calling her MY perp, LOL. 

She may be a perp, but she's MY perp, damnit. She chose ME. She gave me her undivided attention....unlike Kody. 

 

(I wonder if JO had other victims on the line during Meri's time, and if Meri knows or will ever find out.)

[athousandclowns]

I watch catfish on occasion and the last one Nev was so happy that " catfish " is in Webster  now. So I believe he created the word after it happened to him years ago. 

[toodles]

56 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

The "catfisher" is a "perp" to Meri. I don't know why this strikes me as strange wording:

Wait, what?  The revisionist history force is strong with this one.  I think meri is watching too much law and order.