Happy 23rd Birthday, Anna Maxwell! (MERGE)

[Justme]

Anna's birthday is tomorrow, Halloween! (Not to be confused with Anna Maxwell, married to Chris, whom the Maxwell's refer to as Anna Marie.)

I am looking forward to your riveting post about what a "blessing" you are to your family, cooking, cleaning, and serving the Elderly. I can't wait to find out how you take your coffee!

I hope you will have a wonderful year, sing, dance, travel! (Who am I kidding.)

 

P.S. I'm pretty sure she is 23 this year. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[Paperplate]

Instead of spending time on a same old same old birthday about Anna post maybe they should be brainstorming about how to post the Moody trivia questions? Seems to be a difficult task!

[Palimpsest]

Yes, Anna will be 23 tomorrow, I just checked because I couldn't believe it.  How time flies.

BTW, Anna's "unusual" 18th birthday post is a Maxwell classic and an absolute snark goldmine.   Here's the link so we can fill in the time while Sarah is brainstorming about how she can best write about Anna's 23rd birthday.  Spoiler: they went out to eat at Olive Garden and prayed for the waitress.

http://blog.titus2.com/2010/11/13/an-unusual-birthday-a-day-in-the-life-of-anna/

 

 

[unforgiving]

So what does Anna do? I mean, Sarah's a "writer" and Mary's an "illustrator" now, I guess, but whats Anna's special talent? What's she doing to pass the time in Maxhell? 

[Palimpsest]

If memory serves, she is an "expert on nutrition" so she does the majority of the cooking and makes smoothies.  She also picks out the matching skirts and shirts for the immediate family to wear to conferences.  Other than that, I really don't know.  Packs up books for mailing out, perhaps.

[browngrl]

I just read the link to Anna's 18 birthday. I hope this year she has a more fun* afternoon than scrubbing the stove top. 

 

*or at least the Maxwell version of what some might call "fun"

[Paperplate]

Man, this is sad:

Time flew by, until it was 10:30, and Anna was going to squeeze in a little time to work with Sarah. Anna is training to be able to do Sarah’s job. For now, this will help Sarah to get the Moody book written, but as is hoped, someday the Lord will bring the right guy for Sarah, and she’ll no longer be available to do what she does.

Written by Sarah herself, 5 (in words: five) years ago. 

[Closed Womb]

Yes, Anna will be 23 tomorrow, I just checked because I couldn't believe it.  How time flies.

BTW, Anna's "unusual" 18th birthday post is a Maxwell classic and an absolute snark goldmine.   Here's the link so we can fill in the time while Sarah is brainstorming about how she can best write about Anna's 23rd birthday.  Spoiler: they went out to eat at Olive Garden and prayed for the waitress.

http://blog.titus2.com/2010/11/13/an-unusual-birthday-a-day-in-the-life-of-anna/

 

 

I don't know which is more  offensive, the writing or the birthday.

[treemom]

Yes, Anna will be 23 tomorrow, I just checked because I couldn't believe it.  How time flies.

BTW, Anna's "unusual" 18th birthday post is a Maxwell classic and an absolute snark goldmine.   Here's the link so we can fill in the time while Sarah is brainstorming about how she can best write about Anna's 23rd birthday.  Spoiler: they went out to eat at Olive Garden and prayed for the waitress.

http://blog.titus2.com/2010/11/13/an-unusual-birthday-a-day-in-the-life-of-anna/

 

 

oooo!  That's the one where I told Steve off and then a couple of posts later there was a post directed at me,  which has since be deleted

[sparkles]

Aaaauuuugggghhhh! There's just so much wrong with that post—the passive voice is almost the least of it—that I'm at a loss for words. 

I see they managed to avoid the horrors of Halloween by celebrating Anna's birthday late. Made it sooo much easier on the family since they didn't have to call ahead to make sure the ask for a server who wasn't dressed as something evil.

[princessmahina]

I can't believe they have to wait so long for breakfast. They get up at 5:30, then have breakfast two hours later? I'm pretty sure I would faint from dizziness. I need something, even if it's just a piece of toast, pretty soon after getting up. Maybe I'm just a special snowflake.  

[sparkles]

I can't believe they have to wait so long for breakfast. They get up at 5:30, then have breakfast two hours later? I'm pretty sure I would faint from dizziness. I need something, even if it's just a piece of toast, pretty soon after getting up. Maybe I'm just a special snowflake.  

I get up at 5 but don't usually don't eat til 9:30 or so, just need my cup of black decaf to get me going. I'm at my most productive early in the morning and it's probably the only time I don't think food first. Clearly, something's wrong with me. 

[Paperplate]

I can't believe they have to wait so long for breakfast. They get up at 5:30, then have breakfast two hours later? I'm pretty sure I would faint from dizziness. I need something, even if it's just a piece of toast, pretty soon after getting up. Maybe I'm just a special snowflake.  

According to Steve, they get up at 4:45!!!eleven!!!

[Crocoduck]

Face after reading the birthday post:

I would gnaw my own arm off to get the hell out of that house.

[singsingsing]

I'd love to know what the point of getting up at 4:45 is. It's not like they live on a farm, or have jobs that start at 6 a.m. What time do they go to bed at night? They'd have to fall asleep at 8:45 p.m. to get a full 8 hours. That's ridiculous! 

[Marian the Librarian]

Sleep deprivation: one of the best tools in a torturer's arsenal!

[PennySycamore]

Those muffins look undercooked, but maybe it's just a bad picture. 

So they went to Olive Garden and just got soup, salad and breadsticks, i.e. the cheapest thing on the menu? Wasn't anyone hungry?  I sometimes get soup, salad and breadsticks if I don't want to eat much or if I'm really in the mood for minestrone, but usually I get something else like fettucini alfredo.  Sometimes (horrors!) I even get a glass of wine.

[sparkles]

I'm pretty sure that they do go to bed very early so I don't think we can blame sleep deprivation—probably one of the few things that aren't to blame.

Can't speak for the Maxwells, because who the fuck knows why they get up early, but speaking as former bed slug turned early riser (no later than 5am), I found that as I got older, morning became my most productive time. I get up, take care of the pets, do at least a half hour of meditation, do freelance work (I've had clients respond to emails I've sent at 5:30!), take care of stuff like paying the bills, head out to the garden during the season, start my baking on weekends and sometimes during the week, then watch the news before showering and heading out the door for work at 8. When I get home, it's quiet time for me since I'm pretty much worn out (thanks in no small part to balance and hearing issues that take a lot out of me). Mr. Sparkles also works a second job most nights, so I hang with the pets, read, do some online learning, nighttime meditation and then head to bed around 10. So while I'm okay with early rising and know how I fill my days, I have no idea how the Maxwells spend their time and why getting up at the butt crack of dawn is so important to them.

[Justme]

I *think* they once alluded the reason is they like to walk/ exercise early so they wouldn't be exposed to women in their defrauding clothing. Heaven forbid, they meet a jogger with colorful buttons or see Mullet Duggar mowing her lawn in a bikini!

[princessmahina]

I get up at 5 but don't usually don't eat til 9:30 or so, just need my cup of black decaf to get me going. I'm at my most productive early in the morning and it's probably the only time I don't think food first. Clearly, something's wrong with me. 

Huh. That's interesting. I don't wake up hungry (just really thirsty), but I get ravenous pretty quickly and need to eat something. Each to their own, I guess 

 

I definitely couldn't work out first thing on an empty stomach though. I've tried it before and it just didn't work for me. 

[Paperplate]

I'd love to know what the point of getting up at 4:45 is. It's not like they live on a farm, or have jobs that start at 6 a.m. What time do they go to bed at night? They'd have to fall asleep at 8:45 p.m. to get a full 8 hours. That's ridiculous! 

According to Steve they go to bed between 9 and 9.30.

[nausicaa]

Face after reading the birthday post:

I would gnaw my own arm off to get the hell out of that house.

Ditto. And keep in mind, that was a special day, not an ordinary work day. 

And this sentence is from a supposedly successful and published author, "Then, Anna opened presents, with help from Abby, who was extremely delighted to be apart." 

[defraudingjezebel]

Those muffins look undercooked, but maybe it's just a bad picture. 

So they went to Olive Garden and just got soup, salad and breadsticks, i.e. the cheapest thing on the menu? Wasn't anyone hungry?  I sometimes get soup, salad and breadsticks if I don't want to eat much or if I'm really in the mood for minestrone, but usually I get something else like fettucini alfredo.  Sometimes (horrors!) I even get a glass of wine.

I don't know- maybe I'm speculating a little too much- but I get the feeling that food/one's diet is a heavily moralized issue in the Maxwell household. They aren't supposed to give into cravings of the flesh, so I could see Stevehova stating that rich foods are sinful in that they lead to earthly desires and gluttony. It could also explain why they have such a standard food schedule- they aren't supposed to yearn for variety because that indicates ungratefulness and carnal temptation. Soup is a really safe option and typically not viewed as a heavy or rich food, while pasta definitely could be. 

Or, it could be that they're really cheap and insisted and getting the cheapest thing on the menu to save money. But not even some pasta for the birthday girl? So sad. 

[Palimpsest]

This has always been my favorite bit:

"Dad asked the waitress how we could pray for her, and she was surprised by such a request and paused. She asked us to pray for “strength,” and upon inquiring what that exactly meant, she said she was a single mom and needed “strength.” We definitely prayed for that and for her salvation! "

What I think really happened:

Steve handed the waitress a Million Dollar tract instead of a tip and asked how they could pray for her.  She closed her eyes in horror at being stiffed by a table of 16 and said, "Give me strength, dear Lord.  I'm a single mother."  Steve just took it as a prayer request.

Note also the last minute decision to make the "extended" family wear matching frumpers in family photos.  I wonder if Melanie and NR Anna were pleased about that.  It took Anna about an hour and a half to find the frumper pattern and phone a few Jo-Ann's fabric stores to find the matching fabric.  Then Steve graciously drove over an hour each way to fetch it.  Now that would have taken me 20 minutes at most.  Open drawer, find pattern, calculate amount, get on internet, search, find, order, and pay to have it mailed. 

The Maxwells waste an incredible amount of time and, in this case, gas.

[blessalessi]

Yes!  I read that as a loud sigh and a gritted teeth "Give me strength!" from the poor waitress.

I'm guessing that Steve has them get up early deliberately in order to have them go to bed early. So instead of being tempted to go out or socialise in the evening, they are already worn out from exercising in the morning, before anyone else was up.

Didn't someone write a conference report in which Steve said that he tells the daughters to get up their first time their alarm goes off, so that they don't wind up like the women who need to buy the schedule book?!