Tedious, Complicated, and Particular: Erika Shupe, Part 8

[Jellybean]

12 hours ago, princessmahina said:

I think I recall something like that. Caroline has posted guest posts in the past from her sister and other women. From her blog though, it doesn't seem like she's as insane about scheduling as Erika is. Though...who is?

Erika's makeup is definitely dated, but I think a little less so than her hair. I think just adding a little bit of contour to her eye makeup would modernize it a bit, and probably be a little more flattering. I wouldn't say I'm judging Erika's looks- she's not a terrible looking lady-- but to me, her hair and makeup reflects her personality- rigid and unchanging. 

Also, that skirt is hilarious. It really does look like an arrow pointing at the most magical, mystical crotch that apparently ever existed.

*jazz hands, sparkle crotch*

[princessmahina]

*yawn* Erika needs to come up with some original content. Maybe something about scheduling recalcitrant husbands. 

Edited to add: I whined and Erika delivered...kind of. Cute video of the kids swinging on a...weird round thing all together, Karen and Melanie in jeans and looking very normal. I guess she decided to take them to the park more often. Yay for the Shupe kids!

[alexandracabot]

Kind of wild that Karen's in jeans and Melanie's in (Bermuda) *shorts* in the latest video. I know they "allow" it for hikes and gardening, but wearing them for a trip to the playground seems more a matter of convenience than necessity. Which is great.

[princessmahina]

16 minutes ago, alexandracabot said:

Kind of wild that Karen's in jeans and Melanie's in (Bermuda) *shorts* in the latest video. I know they "allow" it for hikes and gardening, but wearing them for a trip to the playground seems more a matter of convenience than necessity. Which is great.

I think in cases of athletics (including bikes and skating), they're okay with pants. Which makes sense, because in those specific activities, pants are far more modest (and safer) than skirts.

[Eternalbluepearl]

Karen is in jeans, has a job, and is learning to drive. GO Karen GO!

[elliha]

The red spinning thing looks like fun to me. I am glad they get to do something fun and I hope Erika can relax for a couple of minutes at least and just enjoy her kids and not think about the past, present and future character training and just let it go even if it is for 10 mins.

[usedbicycle]

17 hours ago, elliha said:

The red spinning thing looks like fun to me. I am glad they get to do something fun and I hope Erika can relax for a couple of minutes at least and just enjoy her kids and not think about the past, present and future character training and just let it go even if it is for 10 mins.

Yup, enjoying her kids only lasted 10 mins. Now she's annoyed at how noisy is it when kids play with legos, lol.

[mallallory]

Legos are the best.  I actually enjoy the sounds they make and digging my hands into the pile.  It seems like she would be glad they're occupied and not bothering her, but what do I know.  Maybe just playing quietly with legos was on the schedule, and it wasn't the day to dump them all out and wonder how that hair tie and piece of broken crayon got in the bucket. 

[defraudingjezebel]

35 minutes ago, mallallory said:

Legos are the best.  I actually enjoy the sounds they make and digging my hands into the pile.  It seems like she would be glad they're occupied and not bothering her, but what do I know.  Maybe just playing quietly with legos was on the schedule, and it wasn't the day to dump them all out and wonder how that hair tie and piece of broken crayon got in the bucket. 

But dumping out Legos means there's mess and disorder- Erika's kryptonite. And I'm sure that the kids won't put away the legos in an organized fashion, another bugaboo. 

I do have to say that I was surprised to see Karen and Melanie in jeans. I wonder if Karen has to wear pants/jeans as part of her gym job? And I'm surprised no one has vocalized their discomfort at Karen and Melanie's pants-wearing. 

[princessmahina]

Erika has probably stepped on one too many Legos to get excited about them. 

The pants furor can't be anything compared to the comment over Karen's exposed shoulders a couple years back- someone said she felt Karen had "lost her innocence!"

Unfortunately I think that comment has been lost to the ages during Erika's deleting spree, but the comments were a doozie.

[mallallory]

I can't imagine Erika stepping on a lego, I imagine her stopping at the entry to the room and announcing that every. single. piece. will be picked up and put away properly right now or she'll throw them all away. 

Oh my goodness, Erika about lost her shit over that exposed shoulders comment.  I'm hopeful that the jeans and shorts on the oldest two are or will be indicative of Erika relaxing a bit.  Maybe in ten years the twins will be allowed to dress in pants all the time and go to college for non homemaking degrees. 

 

[mango_fandango]

1 hour ago, mallallory said:

I can't imagine Erika stepping on a lego, I imagine her stopping at the entry to the room and announcing that every. single. piece. will be picked up and put away properly right now or she'll throw them all away. 

Oh my goodness, Erika about lost her shit over that exposed shoulders comment.  I'm hopeful that the jeans and shorts on the oldest two are or will be indicative of Erika relaxing a bit.  Maybe in ten years the twins will be allowed to dress in pants all the time and go to college for non homemaking degrees. 

 

There's a time lapse video on the FB page where Erika filmed the kids tidying up in the playroom. 

[mallallory]

Oh FFS.  I hadn't seen that yet, but it is exactly what I imagined.  @mango_fandango I'm laughing right now because your post count right now is Certified Expert in Everything, good job on living up to it. 

[mango_fandango]

I'm more expert on Erika Shupe than our other fundies-mainly cos she was my gateway. I actually discovered her two years ago via GOMI- I remember the most recent post then was the one about character training. I dip into the Maxwells, Bateseseses and Duggars occasionally, but I know more about the Shupes than anyone else. It feels a bit weird knowing all this stuff. 

[Eternalbluepearl]

Erika may consider herself an expert on de-cluttering and organizing, but I'm a minimalist and Erika's skills don't always impress me. Her very small kitchen has a portion of the counter devoted to being Erika's "desk." Get it together, girl. Find somewhere else to do paperwork. 

 

[JemimaPuddle-Duck]

2 hours ago, Eternalbluepearl said:

Erika may consider herself an expert on de-cluttering and organizing, but I'm a minimalist and Erika's skills don't always impress me. Her very small kitchen has a portion of the counter devoted to being Erika's "desk." Get it together, girl. Find somewhere else to do paperwork. 

 

ITA!!! It boggles my mind that she considers taking up a third of her counters as an effective use of space!

[mallallory]

How wasteful, surely there's a better place for that mess!  Doesn't she have Karen and Melanie's cold drink plastic ice cube cups out of sight on the right there?  If you're making enough food for 12 8 people multiple times a day, you have to rearrange half the kitchen 6 times a day. 

 

[atlantagirl30084]

3 hours ago, Eternalbluepearl said:

Erika may consider herself an expert on de-cluttering and organizing, but I'm a minimalist and Erika's skills don't always impress me. Her very small kitchen has a portion of the counter devoted to being Erika's "desk." Get it together, girl. Find somewhere else to do paperwork. 

 

Besides, all those papers next to the sink just give me the heebie-jeebies.  Too much opportunity during rinsing/washing dishes to get them wet.  Wonder what Erika would do then?

[princessmahina]

Dishwashing slave would not dare to get Erika's precious lists dirty.

They have a desk in the living room though, and I can't imagine why those papers can't go there. There's enough room. 

[feministxtian]

Why isn't the microwave over the stove? That just bugs me. I have MUCH less counterspace than she does right now, and MUCH less crap on it. 

Erika is not an expert in ANYTHING other than control. 

[princessmahina]

10 hours ago, feministxtian said:

Why isn't the microwave over the stove? That just bugs me. I have MUCH less counterspace than she does right now, and MUCH less crap on it. 

Erika is not an expert in ANYTHING other than control. 

How would you have the microwave over the stove and still have the fan and light there?

[Hane]

12 minutes ago, princessmahina said:

How would you have the microwave over the stove and still have the fan and light there?

My over-the-stove microwave has a built-in range hood with a light and a vent can.

[princessmahina]

15 minutes ago, Hane said:

My over-the-stove microwave has a built-in range hood with a light and a vent can.

Interesting. I've never seen anything like that before. The space above our stove has always just been empty space, maybe with something hanging on the wall.

[slickcat79]

27 minutes ago, princessmahina said:

Interesting. I've never seen anything like that before. The space above our stove has always just been empty space, maybe with something hanging on the wall.

I'm not sure where you live, but it's very common in the US to have the microwave over the range (assuming you have a microwave built in). You can google and see tons of examples of how they look. I would assume that Erika didn't have much choice about the location of the microwave, if they were limited to what the builder put in. Some people who are shorter may find it easier to reach in that spot than over the stove.

She should create a small desk space in her bedroom. They have more open space there than anywhere else in the house, especially now that they don't need a changing table, cribs, or a glider. And no one would disturb the papers because no one would go in mom's room without permission anyway.

[princessmahina]

13 minutes ago, slickcat79 said:

I'm not sure where you live, but it's very common in the US to have the microwave over the range (assuming you have a microwave built in). You can google and see tons of examples of how they look. I would assume that Erika didn't have much choice about the location of the microwave, if they were limited to what the builder put in. Some people who are shorter may find it easier to reach in that spot than over the stove.

She should create a small desk space in her bedroom. They have more open space there than anywhere else in the house, especially now that they don't need a changing table, cribs, or a glider. And no one would disturb the papers because no one would go in mom's room without permission anyway.

I live in the US (have lived in 4 states, 3 in the south) and I've never seen it. 

Agreed that Erika probably didn't have much choice about the microwave. Other than transforming the hall closet into a pantry (which took little real labor), they haven't done much to change the house. That microwave is really awkwardly positioned though. I'm a little surprised she hasn't gotten rid of it-- it seems like people like her (naturopath, chiropractor for general health, etc) decide to get rid of the microwave.