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All Episodes Talk: Small World, Big Lives

NewOrleansLady
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Culture Check: How can the tropes and stereotypes we apply to TV personalities impact our fellow posters, and how do we remain mindful of these effects while discussing them? Please review for more on stereotypes and tropes.

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Culture Check: How can we express our opinions and consider the effect our assumptions may have on the people around us? What impact might speculation have on others, especially when we speculate about children or complex issues like neurodiversity?

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Irate Panda
Irate Panda

A rundown of the show imo: Two LP got married because neither one of them thought they could do better than the other. They had 4 kids, despite probably realizing they were not a good mat

VioletNevermind
VioletNevermind

Ugh.  If I were Amy, I would be furious (and holding my cards very close to my chest).  That conversation in Matt’s office was nothing less than a three-on-one pile-on.  I just don’t understand how Am

funky-rat
funky-rat

We all need to remember that we came in to their lives after they had 4 children and had lived on the farm for a number of years.  None of us saw the years leading up to that.  I don't know what Amy w

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jhlipton

jhlipton

It's interesting to compare Jeremy, who is utterly dependent on TLC cash, with Jacob, who wants nothing to do with it (it appears Molly feels the same way as Jacob.)

As far as TLC is concerned, Amy, Matt, Jer, Oddj, Zach and Tori are "the whole family".

I really like Zach and Tori.  They are so low-key and fun and you can tell they love each other.  I wonder if seeing them so happy has helped Amy seek her own bliss.

  • Love 4
PlygPigs

PlygPigs

On 7/6/2016 at 7:58 AM, ZoloftBlob said:

Right but he's Zach's neighbor in Portland, out at Matt's newly remodeled double wide (and considering its what, two years old, and they're planning on dumping it, isn't that just literally pissing money away?) and this is all he can talk about? And since when was Zach's neighbor now invited to the stag parties at Matt's place? He's not Matt's neighbor

I believe he is Matt's friend who just happens to live near Zach. That's how I took it anyway. 

Natalie68

Natalie68

On 6/22/2016 at 4:34 AM, KateHearts said:

"parmeegian cheese".  With all the producers around her, and the fact that people use the word "parmesan" all over the place, she still can't pronounce it?!  (And I wonder what's in her "great spaghetti"?)

Having seen their house in episodes I would say at least hair and dust.  

  • Love 2
ZoloftBlob

ZoloftBlob

Quote

I'm not sure that was all they talked about. It was just a passing comment.

And I agree with you, because I think it was a clearly staged passing comment. If it was genuinely one of Zach's neighbors then my question still is this - why is Matt inviting Zach's neighbors in Zach's Portland (is it Portland? Or Hillsborough?) neighborhood out to Matt's stag party of friends? I mean, it's all so ridiculously staged - do men in their fifties really have "guys night"?

  • Love 1
sucker4reality

sucker4reality

Guys, guys, guys! I went to the Beating 50 Percent blog and signed up for the 7 Day Challenge (7 days of texted instructions for things to help you with your marriage, you can even text them back!) and the first auto-text started with the line "Hey (my name) We're stoked".

I am genuinely curious what kind of advice I get.

  • Love 12
Willowsmom

Willowsmom

2 hours ago, Caracoa1 said:

I really do hope Jeremy and Audrey grow up and that they can beat the odds and have a strong marriage.  Only time will tell...right now they need to get off their high horses and join the real world.  Unless they have a dwarf child... Little People Big World will not continue forever. 

Even with a little child the show won't last much longer.

Now if Zach and Tori have a little kid or tow I can see a spinoff if they would agree.

sucker4reality

sucker4reality

(edited)

Ok, so first day of the 7 Day Marriage Challenge. Are y'all ready for this? It's pretty deep.

The text message gives you a link back to a special section of their website where you're greeted with a YouTube video of 'Jer & Auj' telling you once again how stoked they are that you're taking the challenge and announcing that the goal for Day 1 is to "Take on an honest look at your marriage."

When the video is over, there's a paragraph instructing you to "Take an honest look at you marriage. Think about where you are right now. Are you where you want to be?" It finishes by encouraging you to answer their one-question, multiple choice poll honestly, because it's anonymous. The choices and results so far are as follows:

A. Thriving -12%

B. Better than Average - 35%

C. Average - 30%

D. Struggling - 19%

E. Barely Surviving - 4%

That's it. No criteria or explanation for each choice and a pretty neat bell curve of responses.

And finally, after you answer the poll question, you get the challenge for Day 1 (and I quote, all mistakes theirs, for you grammar police):

"Thank you for being honest. Day 1 is about assessing where you are at, and where you want to be! CHALLENGE: Write down some goals for your marriage. Were you want it to be in 6 months. Now go find your vows, and take a couple minutes to reread them. Can you honestly say that you are living up to the promises you made? Tonight, take your vows and read them to your spouse. If there is an area where you are not living up to your promises, apologize and seek reconciliation."

 

Then you're given the option to watch the video again,  you know, in case you missed something important the first time.

 

Oh, and this is unrelated to the challenge, but in another section of their site, they are/were hosting a giveaway contest. The prize? An all-expenses-paid trip to beautiful Bend, Oregon for a double date with Jer & Auj themselves!

Edited by sucker4reality
  • Love 10
Natalie68

Natalie68

(edited)
On 6/22/2016 at 4:34 AM, KateHearts said:

"parmeegian cheese".  With all the producers around her, and the fact that people use the word "parmesan" all over the place, she still can't pronounce it?!  (And I wonder what's in her "great spaghetti"?)

Having seen their house in episodes I would say at least hair and dust.  

Edited by Natalie68
I don't know why this posted twice so ignore please!!
Natalie68

Natalie68

4 hours ago, sucker4reality said:

Ok, so first day of the 7 Day Marriage Challenge. Are y'all ready for this? It's pretty deep.

The text message gives you a link back to a special section of their website where you're greeted with a YouTube video of 'Jer & Auj' telling you once again how stoked they are that you're taking the challenge and announcing that the goal for Day 1 is to "Take on an honest look at your marriage."

When the video is over, there's a paragraph instructing you to "Take an honest look at you marriage. Think about where you are right now. Are you where you want to be?" It finishes by encouraging you to answer their one-question, multiple choice poll honestly, because it's anonymous. The choices and results so far are as follows:

A. Thriving -12%

B. Better than Average - 35%

C. Average - 30%

D. Struggling - 19%

E. Barely Surviving - 4%

That's it. No criteria or explanation for each choice and a pretty neat bell curve of responses.

And finally, after you answer the poll question, you get the challenge for Day 1 (and I quote, all mistakes theirs, for you grammar police):

"Thank you for being honest. Day 1 is about assessing where you are at, and where you want to be! CHALLENGE: Write down some goals for your marriage. Were you want it to be in 6 months. Now go find your vows, and take a couple minutes to reread them. Can you honestly say that you are living up to the promises you made? Tonight, take your vows and read them to your spouse. If there is an area where you are not living up to your promises, apologize and seek reconciliation."

 

Then you're given the option to watch the video again,  you know, in case you missed something important the first time.

 

Oh, and this is unrelated to the challenge, but in another section of their site, they are/were hosting a giveaway contest. The prize? An all-expenses-paid trip to beautiful Bend, Oregon for a double date with Jer & Auj themselves!

Oh bless their toddler hearts!  They are so deep!  I don't want to sign up but maybe these marriage experts can give me some advice.  I have only been married 25 years!  I will check back for Day 2.

Are you able to respond with corrections?  I mean if they are going to be dispensing advice and this is THEIR JOB, perhaps they need to bone up on their writing skills.  I find it so effing ridiculous this these children, married all of what 10 minutes, are giving anyone advice about anything other than MAYBE what to do in Bend, Oregon.  

  • Love 7
BradandJanet

BradandJanet

6 hours ago, sucker4reality said:

Oh, and this is unrelated to the challenge, but in another section of their site, they are/were hosting a giveaway contest. The prize? An all-expenses-paid trip to beautiful Bend, Oregon for a double date with Jer & Auj themselves!

Jer and Auj can afford to sponsor an all-expenses-paid prize trip to Oregon for two? How? Even if the winners were put in a Motel 6 and fed fast food, there would still be that pesky airfare. These two posers must have a secret fund we don't know about.

  • Love 2
sucker4reality

sucker4reality

(edited)
3 hours ago, Natalie68 said:

Oh bless their toddler hearts!  They are so deep!  I don't want to sign up but maybe these marriage experts can give me some advice.  I have only been married 25 years!  I will check back for Day 2.

Are you able to respond with corrections?  I mean if they are going to be dispensing advice and this is THEIR JOB, perhaps they need to bone up on their writing skills.  I find it so effing ridiculous this these children, married all of what 10 minutes, are giving anyone advice about anything other than MAYBE what to do in Bend, Oregon.  

The sign up form said you can text them back but I haven't tried.

I got a bonus text tonight suggesting I pray with my spouse followed by a link to their post about 10 things you can pray about with your spouse, in case you can't think of anything. Now, I do pray and pray with my husband, so I won't shark on that BUT any pastor worth his or her salt would tell you the same thing. The Hipster Twins and their special insight did not come up with that.

I'll post what I get tomorrow!

Edited by sucker4reality
  • Love 8
Passing Strange

Passing Strange

(edited)
On 7/6/2016 at 11:43 AM, SongbirdHollow said:

What does four & more mean? Is that like Kate plus eight?

Amy's original design said "Amy + four" when she showed it to Audrey. With her lightening swift intellect, Aud figured out that four referred to Amy's children. She said that there would be more than four with the coming of grandchildren, I guess because the word "children" is in both terms. Since Aud is apparently an expert on tattoo tradition as well as marriage, she also said you shouldn't get a tattoo with your own name. So, with Aud's blessing, Amy changed from the design that made sense to this one.

ETA: That's how I remember it, but I could be off base. Whenever Audrey and Her Makeup are on screen I'm so distracted that I can miss things.

Edited by Passing Strange
  • Love 4
sucker4reality

sucker4reality

(edited)

7-Day Marriage Challenge Day 2. Theme: The 5 Love Languages!

(Seriously Jer & Auj, the world doesn't need you to introduce them to a book someone else wrote.)

Anywho, in the welcome video today, Jer tells us that he and Auj discovered The Five Love Languages "early on" in their marriage (Early on? Like yesterday?). He gives an example by telling us that he always tells Audrey how pretty she is, but because her love languages are gifts and words of affirmation, it speaks to her so much more when he writes it in a note and leaves it on her steering wheel. That's because leaving a note on her steering wheel counts as both a gift and a word of affirmation.

Well,  today they want you and your spouse to go to the 5 Love Languages site and take the quiz to determine your love languages. They include a screen shot of the site with a big arrow and the words "Click here" in case you can't figure out where to click to find the quiz. Hint: It's the link that says "Discover Your Love Language." 

(Bonus for the grammar police: "Find out what your love language is and what your spouses is. If you already know them, do this anyways.")

Once you do that (I didn't; my hubby and I have the actual book and took the quiz years ago, just after our honeymoon), they want you to write your answer in a submission box they provide. You get 10 points for doing that!  I didn't notice I was earning points yesterday!

Then you get the CHALLENGE (capslock theirs,all errors theirs, italics mine):

Now that you know your spouses love languages, have a conversation with them exploring some ways you would like to be loved. Be vulnerable, this conversation should be a safe space for expressing how and where you need to be loved. For example, "I feel loved when you text me 'I'm proud of you' randomly throughout the day, could you do that for me this week?" Or, "I feel loved when you surprise me with flowers, or a gift." Discover ways to love your spouse this week, and actually do them! The little things often reap big rewards. Have fun!

Spouses love languages? Are they on LPBW or Sister Wives?

Edited by sucker4reality
  • Love 7
sucker4reality

sucker4reality

Day 3: Proactive Love.

There's not even a video!

There's just the introductory paragraph that begins, "Based on your spouses love language, come up with one specific way that you can love them today. Be the one to act first!" They give examples. My favorites are giving your spouse a 15-second kiss and doing something around the house that has needed to be done for a long time. Because they both sound like cop-out's but then maybe they're just not my love language. :/  I bet Audrey's favorite is bringing home a little gift basket of her favorite things, wrapped nicely. If you need more idea, they gave a link back to one of their blog posts.

The CHALLENGE today was to write what you did in the submission box that appears right below a picture of Jer & Auj standing in the woods. (It kind of looks like Auj is having a seizure and Jer's trying to hold her up while wearing his stocking cap.) I typed in that I folded laundry today, because that's not a lie. I got 15 points! Go me!

Apparently, they forgot they already gave me a CHALLENGE because when I answered, a second one popped up. It says verbatim: "Awesome!!! CHALLENGE: Once a week, challenge yourself to love your spouse in a creative, specific, and fresh new way."

I wonder if Gary Chapman knows these two are basically ripping off his book, albeit giving him credit, because if he did, maybe he could help them find the apostrophe key and a thesaurus.

  • Love 10
sucker4reality

sucker4reality

(edited)

Day 4- Show Appreciation There's a video again! In it Audrey tells us today is about showing gratefulness, thankfulness and just saying thank you. One of her gifts must've been that thesaurus! Then she explains that she means appreciation for little things like washing dishes, putting the toothbrush up, cleaning kitty litter, etc.

The introduction paragraph tells us thankfulness brings joy and there's a checklist of things we can do to show appreciation. It tells me I'll only get points if I complete the whole checklist. Oh darn, whatever shall I do? And the more points I get, the closer I get to the giveaway! Oh shoot, that's what that was?

But not to worry, the checklist only has three items:

  • Write Them A Thank You Note/ Thank You Text
  • Do A Task/ Chore That They Usually Do And Thank Them For Always Doing It
  • Post A Photo On Social Media Publicly Appreciating Them

I soooo want to take a picture of Hubby cleaning out the cat litter or changing a dirty baby diaper and post it on social media to show my appreciation, but, alas, I'm just not that honest. I got 25 points!

(The thought just occurred to me that I might  be the only person doing this stupid thing, and I have no idea what I'll do if I actually 'win.')

Again, there's a challenge after the challenge, but to their credit, they don't use the word 'challenge.' It begins with this gem of impressive logic: "Thanking your spouse is a great way to show your appreciation." The instructions say to try making a list of 100 things you appreciate about your spouse, but you don't have to finish it in one sitting or read it to them.

I have to hand it to them, the only missing apostrophe was in this sentence: "Lets become known for our thankfulness," -- what does that even mean?--but they did use an ellipses as a comma. *sigh*

 

'

Edited by sucker4reality
  • Love 8
sucker4reality

sucker4reality

(edited)

Day 5 - Romance your Spous [sic]

Oh boy!

No video, just a written introduction.

"Did you stop flirting with your spouse when you got married?" If so,  start doing it the Jer & Auj way! They list that 15-second kiss again, butt grabs, "praising their body, new 'pajamas' or a little surprise gift to set the mood." Eck...

They're back on the CHALLENGE bandwagon today. There's three before I even click the button to continue, all with CHALLENGE before them. They want all the "wives" to follow a link to Audrey's blog post about love texts you can send your husband throughout the day. They want husbands to pick up something for their wives (favorite drink,new underwear, flowers, and what-not) and then place the gift on their pillow so they are pleasantly surprised when you head to bed." And the third CHALLENGE is actually just them asking you what turns your spouse on most. Interestingly, there's no submission box to type in the answer. Can't imagine why.

There's a Next button but all I get when I click it are the words "Thanks! Got it!" even though I didn't actually type in an answer.

Does anybody else think it's interesting that wives get gifts and husbands get love texts?

By the way, in case any of you are wondering why I even bother with this, I find it amusing, and I'm a high school teacher in July. I promise I have a ridiculously time-consuming and under-paying job for most of the year.

Edited by sucker4reality
  • Love 10
sucker4reality

sucker4reality

On ‎7‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 6:03 PM, Caracoa1 said:

These two have way  too much time on their hands!  

The blog or the challenge? The blog is pretty well done besides the occasional grammar error. The challenge seems to be hosted on conveyour.com. It's decent, besides the content, but I don't know how much control they have over it or whether it's a template.

IndianPaintbrush

IndianPaintbrush

(edited)

Auj should maybe stick to wedding planning instead of marriage counseling.  Is it safe for Jer and Auj's cat to be climbing around the car?  I could never do that.  My cat hates the car and would probably cause a horrible accident.

I liked Amy's new hair, but it looks like she didn't keep it?  Her hair was pretty blonde in the talking head.

Edited by IndianPaintbrush
  • Love 1
ThinkerBell

ThinkerBell

(edited)

What a Crazy Quilt mess of a show that was. Cramming Matt's new toy, Jer's roll-over, Amy's new 'I'm single and loving it' hair, the hipster cat loose in the car, and Auj' s opportunistic wedding planning into one zany episode was like watching a hyper hummingbird flitting from one flower to another.

The show could have been pared down to the only somewhat interesting 60 seconds of the entire chaotic montage - the reveal of Amy's fetching new hairdo.

Edited by ThinkerBell
  • Love 3
fuzzylollipop

fuzzylollipop

Please tell me that this episode does not mean that TLC has a spinoff planned for Oddj. I see it now, making hipster wedding dreams come true while giving out endless marriage advice ?. There's not enough eyeroll emojis to describe my feelings right now. I rarely use the fast forward button, but TLC gave me no choice with that tonight. Hey network powers that be: more Zach and Tori, less lazy hipsters. 

  • Love 5
Mod-LunarJester
Message added by Mod-LunarJester,

Culture Check: How can the tropes and stereotypes we apply to TV personalities impact our fellow posters, and how do we remain mindful of these effects while discussing them? Please review for more on stereotypes and tropes.

Guest

Culture Check: How can we express our opinions and consider the effect our assumptions may have on the people around us? What impact might speculation have on others, especially when we speculate about children or complex issues like neurodiversity?

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