Erika Shupe *leer smirk* Large Families on Purpose Part 6

[EyeQueue]

10 minutes ago, THERetroGamerNY said:

And isn't there sprays, or sprinkles, of a sort that scares off deer and rabbits. Like crystalized fox urine for rabbits? I swear I saw that at a garden center once...

Yes, there is. But we were on a grad student budget, so the headship's wee filled the bill at that juncture.

[Shiny]

I'm thrilled Karen got a job. Thrilled! I assume *redacted* is part of the gym chain up there. She will certainly meet people of different faiths, and no doubt see some body parts. This seems to go against everything Erika has said about modesty....but I'm certainly not going to question it! 

[mango_fandango]

On 4/18/2016 at 8:01 PM, Shiny said:

I'm thrilled Karen got a job. Thrilled! I assume *redacted* is part of the gym chain up there. She will certainly meet people of different faiths, and no doubt see some body parts. This seems to go against everything Erika has said about modesty....but I'm certainly not going to question it! 

Yeah, I googled *redacted* and there's a branch in Mt Vernon where they live, so it's not like they would have to go far. Either Karen would walk there or, more likely, Erika would drop her off as Karen doesn't drive yet. (In comments on some post somewhere Erika said the kids won't learn to drive until 18 cos she thinks 16 is too young and even then they will always drive with someone, never alone.) It's good Karen has a job. She graduates this year plus she will likely learn to drive. I imagine Erika will want Karen to learn so that she can take some of the responsibilities, ie homeschooling and probably shopping etc. With a job, she will be able to get out of the house occasionally, at least until marriage. This is making me wonder when a courtship will occur. I wonder about the poor guy expected to reach Erika's standards... 

[Koala]

I think those kids are probably going to give Erika hell.  She's outnumbered, and I get the feeling Bob doesn't have his heart in keeping them home under his "umbrella of autority".  He isn't really in a financial place to pull it off even if he wanted to.

Erika puts up a good front, but I think the teens get away with a lot more than she would ever let on.  

Good for Karen. .

[picklepizzas]

On 4/18/2016 at 8:22 PM, mango_fandango said:

Yeah, I googled *redacted* and there's a branch in Mt Vernon where they live, so it's not like they would have to go far. Either Karen would walk there or, more likely, Erika would drop her off as Karen doesn't drive yet. (In comments on some post somewhere Erika said the kids won't learn to drive until 18 cos she thinks 16 is too young and even then they will always drive with someone, never alone.) It's good Karen has a job. She graduates this year plus she will likely learn to drive. I imagine Erika will want Karen to learn so that she can take some of the responsibilities, ie homeschooling and probably shopping etc. With a job, she will be able to get out of the house occasionally, at least until marriage. This is making me wonder when a courtship will occur. I wonder about the poor guy expected to reach Erika's standards... 

Apparently Erika relented on that one, too. She posted a pic today of Karen in the driver's seat 

[Koala]

That is awesome!  I am genuinely happy that someone is overriding Erika's giant cup of crazy.  

[16strong]

58 minutes ago, Koala said:

That is awesome!  I am genuinely happy that someone is overriding Erika's giant cup of crazy.  

I wonder if it was Bob that was persistent in telling Erika that her way of life was holding the kids back, or if Erika's mom gently encouraged her to loosen up? Or perhaps Erika relented to get Karen off her back.

[Koala]

14 minutes ago, 16strong said:

I wonder if it was Bob that was persistent in telling Erika that her way of life was holding the kids back, or if Erika's mom gently encouraged her to loosen up? Or perhaps Erika relented to get Karen off her back.

I suspect Bob. 

[elliha]

I am guessing finances was the biggest reason for the job but I still think it is good for Karen. Not even Erika would be able to take her whole paycheck though so I am sure this job will mean both more money for Karen and some minimal freedom.

[Hisey]

I am happy about this, too. 

I think that there's no way Bob can afford to pay for higher education for his kids. And I doubt Erika wants to pay for Karen'ts school, since she doesn't even like to pay for individual Easter baskets. So the job is probably their way of making Karen pay for cosmetology school. She'd need to start now so that she could begin schooling next fall. That's my guess, and I don't really think it's such a terrible thing. Karen gets out of the house, learns to drive, saves money, gets some sort of education and then a career. It's a reasonable solution. What else is Erika going to do with her kids when they reach 18? She can't keep them all home, eating 1 jellybean each time they sweep the kitchen floor.

[JillyO]

I can't believe how truly happy that makes me! LOL

And yeah, apparently Bob is teaching Karen to drive as well - I'll be curious to see if they will actually allow her drive drive (to work?) by herself, since Erika used to say that her kids would always have a sibling with them when driving (after 18).

[elliha]

I think that Erika's practical side might be to the benefit of Karen. If Karen can drive to work and then perform a couple small errands she would be truly helpful to Erika and this might be something that could change Erika's mind to let her drive a bit on her own. It would probably only be to designated sights but if she is only allowed to go to the grocery store she could at least get herself a candy bar or buy a new item of clothing at the same time. 

[BlessingsVonFundiePants]

GO KAREN! Save every penny and LEAVE!!!!

[19 cats and counting]

I wonder if Karen will be driving the family van or do they have another car for her to learn on.  Also I wonder if they'll let her save her money from the job to buy a car.

(Nothing wrong with learning on a larger car.  I learned on a subcompact and am still uncomfortable driving larger vehicles.  My uncle taught/is teaching/will teach my cousins on his commercial van.  He figures if they can drive that they can drive anything.)

[slickcat79]

16 hours ago, 16strong said:

My parents live in an area with a heavy deer population, and they have a garden. It's doable, but it's also tough and requires constant maintenance to keep them out. All of the trees in the back yard (peach trees, cherry tree) have their trunks wrapped year-round in hard plastic because the deer would literally eat every last scrap of them. They are looking at putting fine plastic netting around them and then over the top like a cage because they are so persistent. Deer are very destructive, and will eat almost anything. And what the deer don't get to, the birds and rabbits will.

If only the Shupes had multiple people who were around the house all day, every day, with nothing more important to do than watch and evaluate how to keep animals out of a garden! 

They certainly have wooded areas around, but they also live in the middle of a cookie-cutter subdivision, surrounded by other houses. Plus the yard is fully fenced by a complete privacy fence, which should at least deter deer if not smaller animals. I think Erika's real objection to a garden is that it would require her and the kids to spend time grubbing around in the dirt ON PURPOSE.

Also, it's probably been mentioned before but I just realized Erika has a LinkedIn profile  Apparently being a homemaker at The Shupe Family means you work in human resources.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/erika-shupe-3a27a444

[Koala]

10 minutes ago, slickcat79 said:

 

Also, it's probably been mentioned before but I just realized Erika has a LinkedIn profile  Apparently being a homemaker at The Shupe Family means you work in human resources.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/erika-shupe-3a27a444

I have to send this to my mom (who actually has a paying job in Human Resources).

Her "skills":

Customer Service 

Microsoft Office

Microsoft Word

Employee Relations 

Microsoft Excel

Human Resources

Recruiting 

Data Entry

Outlook 

Research

Coaching

Teamwork

Public Speaking

Administrative Assistants

Organizational Development

Onboarding

Event Planning

Time Management

  This is fabulous.

[mango_fandango]

Huh. The photo of Karen driving has been deleted. The fuck?? There were no nasty comments, only someone saying that Erika had previously said about the kids not learning to drive till 18, and if Karen's learning cos she has a job. 

[JillyO]

37 minutes ago, mango_fandango said:

Huh. The photo of Karen driving has been deleted. The fuck?? There were no nasty comments, only someone saying that Erika had previously said about the kids not learning to drive till 18, and if Karen's learning cos she has a job. 

Quick, Erika! Better hurry to delete any mention of Karen driving from the description as well!!

[Koala]

Typical fundie.  Make outrageous claims/assertions, and then when someone calls you on it, you just delete the evidence.  

Would it really be so hard to say, "You know, it seemed like a good idea when I said it, but it didn't work out like I thought it would, so I changed my mind"? 

Nope, just delete the picture and it didn't happen.  

It really makes me angry, because instead of being happy for her daughter, she is thinking of how to cover her own ass.

It's alllllll about Erika.

[princessmahina]

Okay, but what is the POINT of Erika having a Linked In account? She's not entering the work force any time soon. I doubt she's looking for work she can do at home. Even with Karen and Melanie able to help out, there are still a fair amount of younglings that need looking after. Besides, how would Erika keep tabs on everyone's bathroom schedule if she had outside work to do?

[Hisey]

You know the entry that shows Anna Marie with those fake golf clubs she made? Someone wrote in suggesting the Shupes buy her a youth set at a used sporting goods store. Erika deleted that suggestion. I think she reads here.

[mango_fandango]

15 minutes ago, Hisey said:

You know the entry that shows Anna Marie with those fake golf clubs she made? Someone wrote in suggesting the Shupes buy her a youth set at a used sporting goods store. Erika deleted that suggestion. I think she reads here.

She's posted before referencing us, do you remember that article on homeschooling she posted with the caption "Something for the echo chambers at Free Jinger and GOMI"? Thing was, the article pointed out that homeschooling was not always perfect and was not the amazing thing fundies make it out to be.

[Sylvan]

Are Karen & Melanie allowed internet access? I wonder if they've ever Googled their family and came across FJ.

[mango_fandango]

4 minutes ago, Sylvan said:

Are Karen & Melanie allowed internet access? I wonder if they've ever Googled their family and came across FJ.

The laptops they use for school don't have Internet, and they aren't allowed to use the main family computer.

[Gobsmacked]

I hope not. They are not their daft mother.