JinJer 28: Guns & Roses

[PennySycamore]

Today on the This Old House Hour  during the "Ask This Old House" segment, they had a story about robotic walls.  The wall moved so that you could pull a bed out of one side of the wall when you wanted it, it also had closet space and the non-bed  (living room) side had a bench so that you'd have more seating in the living room.  I thought it was a cool way to make a small apartment more livable.

How would you count rooms in an apartment like that?

[SapphireSlytherin]

4 hours ago, Gobbles said:

Haha, a thing most Americans find hilarious (personal experience) is that you can tilt our windows. The upper part opens, while the lower part stays the same. And proper rolling shutters. If you close them the room is pitch black, no light comes trough.

THIS. This is one of the biggest things I miss about living in Germany. I loved those windows - tilt or swing, and soooo easy to clean!

[VelociRapture]

5 hours ago, Chickenbutt said:

Unless he played for the Army

https://www.army.mil/article/7151/All_Army_Soccer_Team_Visits_Pentagon/

Not that I think he did, but much to my surprise, the Army does have a soccer team.

We know which professional teams he's played for. They're listed on his Wikipedia page:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Vuolo

He last played professionally in 2014, about a year before meeting Jinger and he went pro straight out of college. If he had any military background it would have been mentioned at some point. No such service has been mentioned and @Coconut Flanpointed out earlier that the military exemption was for the prior owner of the home.

[Daisy0322]

14 hours ago, VelociRapture said:

 Jessa doesn't seem to like cooking or to be very good at it. As long as her three kids are healthy and fed that's all that matters though.

I'm absolutely dying laughing right now! Seriously I laughed so hard I had to catch my breath  ... Ben seriously is still just a baby himself.

[itqitc]

9 hours ago, Four is Enough said:

Dunno about that. When Mr. Four and I bought our first house, we had a VA loan at 2% interest, for a small percentage of the house. 

We are in the middle of selling our house to someone who is using a VA loan to buy it.  While I am thankful for his service and glad he is able to use it, holy hell is it a pain as a seller.   There can be no paint chipping, we have to pay for an terminate inspection, everything has to be perfect.  While as a seller I do want it to be perfect, I really don't feel the desire to paint a pole on the back porch that is slightly chipping just so he can get his loan.  

Our house is advertised as a 3bed, 2bath with a total of six rooms not including the bathrooms. 

[candygirl200413]

I feel like it would have been noted if he did something like ROTC at syracuse or wherever he went beforehand.

[SilverBeach]

Just want to mention that the maximum loan amount you are approved for is not the maximum purchase price you can buy. You will need to supply any amount over your max loan amount out of your pocket, but you can still buy a house over your max loan approval.

Multi-family housing is a thing in Chicago. I grew up in a six flat, and two and three flats were common. All had basements.

My current home has mostly new windows which tilt out. Some have a fixed top part where the bottom tilts.

I also have a two full two half bath house.

 

I recommend signing up to be automatically notified when a house in your desired area comes on the market.

[just_ordinary]

1 hour ago, Daisy0322 said:

I'm absolutely dying laughing right now! Seriously I laughed so hard I had to catch my breath  ... Ben seriously is still just a baby himself.

Oh my. I was laughing at your quote and then started scratching my head, because why Ben wouldn't be a baby. Wasn't he just born a few weeks ago?????

Took a few seconds to realise where I went wrong.

Totally blaming my nephews Henry and Benjamin, with Ben being just one year old.

[Mrs.Right]

On 7/20/2017 at 5:59 PM, Four is Enough said:

Parboil or partially steam your brussels sprouts. THEN cut them in half and put them face down in some (don't need a lot) olive oil (or butter) on a cookie sheet in a 425 degree oven for about ten minutes. Voila! the edges are a luscious brown, sometimes a bit crispy. Salt to taste. Make a LOT.

I sprinkle a tablespoon of brown sugar on them when I'm feeling extra devious! 

[MadeItOut]

3 hours ago, Mrs.Right said:

I sprinkle a tablespoon of brown sugar on them when I'm feeling extra devious! 

Ooo now that is hedonistic ...and I bet really small bits of chopped up bacon would be awesome added into that mix.

[Pretzel]

9 hours ago, VelociRapture said:

[snip]He last played professionally in 2014, about a year before meeting Jinger and he went pro straight out of college. If he had any military background it would have been mentioned at some point. No such service has been mentioned and @Coconut Flanpointed out earlier that the military exemption was for the prior owner of the home.

I think there's a misunderstanding here. I don't think that what @Chickenbutt was saying is Jeremy played for the army, but only that if anyone talented at soccer is in the army, it is not impossible for them to become a professional soccer player, as they could play for the army team. We know Jeremy wasn't in the army, but being in the army does not equally mean being unable to play soccer professionally.  

[louisa05]

10 hours ago, SilverBeach said:

Just want to mention that the maximum loan amount you are approved for is not the maximum purchase price you can buy. You will need to supply any amount over your max loan amount out of your pocket, but you can still buy a house over your max loan approval.

I recommend signing up to be automatically notified when a house in your desired area comes on the market.

To the first: obviously. When we wanted to up our offer, we still needed to know our max with the bank; we had a down payment  but there was a max out number on that as well. So buying a higher priced house still meant a higher loan. I know people who bought with no down payment and spent the max they were allowed to borrow and have woke up over their heads now that it is all done. So there is that. Banks will loan to you based on your debt to income ratio. If you have very little debt going in (as we do), you are going to get approved easily for likely a bigger amount (and thus bigger mortgage payment) than you can really handle. If we had borrowed the max we are allowed, we'd actually have a rough time making the payments and still having enough for the rest of our bills. 

As for the second--that's where working with a good realtor comes in. Ours was great at letting us know as soon as anything in our range that matched our needs/wants came on the market. And you don't pay that person. They get the commission from the seller when you close--our agent did not list the house we bought, but she gets half the commission. If she had sold us something she listed, she'd get it all. She did not pressure us to buy her own listing, either. And that's where you need to get recs for a realtor. We were told a couple of other agents in the group tend to do that, so we avoided them. 

[Greendoor]

8 hours ago, MadeItOut said:

Ooo now that is hedonistic ...and I bet really small bits of chopped up bacon would be awesome added into that mix.

 

11 hours ago, Mrs.Right said:

Parboil or partially steam your brussels sprouts. THEN cut them in half and put them face down in some (don't need a lot) olive oil (or butter) on a cookie sheet in a 425 degree oven for about ten minutes. Voila! the edges are a luscious brown, sometimes a bit crispy. Salt to taste. Make a LOT.

OK - brussels sprouts as I do them 

Par-boil (about  3mins  max , Cut in half and arrange in casserole that has about 2tbsp of melted butter in it.  Add your crumbled bacon, and a sweet bit of maple syrup.  Bake.  Eat,  Take a second helping. 

 

[Lurky]

5 hours ago, Pretzel said:

I think there's a misunderstanding here. I don't think that what @Chickenbutt was saying is Jeremy played for the army, but only that if anyone talented at soccer is in the army, it is not impossible for them to become a professional soccer player, as they could play for the army team. We know Jeremy wasn't in the army, but being in the army does not equally mean being unable to play soccer professionally.  

 

If Jeremy had been in the army, especially if he'd served overseas, the Duggars would be yelling about it from the rooftops.

In a lot of European countries, some top athletes are funded through Armed Forces or Police, so they can get to be the best athlete they can and also pay the rent, and set up a career in the future.  Athletes have to be a certain level, and do training and a certain number of hours' work a year for the Army/Police.  But it's not the same as being in the Army/Police in real terms, and Jeremy's abilities, frankly, don't seem especially high, so would someone of his level qualify?  It also tends to be specific sports that aren't well-funded - here's the Italian Fiamme Azzurre, for example, which doesn't include football, and I'm guessing that's both because it's a team sport, & the Serie A is very profitable.

But I would never expect to see an armed forces team playing in a professional sports league like football (soccer), over here - does that even happen in the USA?  Do they really fund people to 80% play football, without being deployed?  Or is it that the (men's) football/soccer scene is so undeveloped in the USA compared to pretty much every Western European country, that you get an Army team alongside the privately owned ones?

[sparklymagie]

1 hour ago, Lurky said:

But I would never expect to see an armed forces team playing in a professional sports league like football (soccer), over here - does that even happen in the USA?  Do they really fund people to 80% play football, without being deployed?  Or is it that the (men's) football/soccer scene is so undeveloped in the USA compared to pretty much every Western European country, that you get an Army team alongside the privately owned ones?

I'm not sure about soccer but Army and Navy (maybe others?) have American football teams but they are college level, not pro. The Armed Services also has choirs, bands, etc that are really talented and do shows.  I don't think participation prevents you from being deployed or actively serving.  I always thought they were kind of recruitment tools like "See? You can still participate in things you love if you join the military, just like if you went to college!" Admittedly, I could be wrong. 

[Lurky]

1 minute ago, sparklymagie said:

I don't think participation prevents you from being deployed or actively serving.  I always thought they were kind of recruitment tools like "See? You can still participate in things you love if you join the military, just like if toy went to college!"

Yes, I thought this too - so if you're in the army in the UK, and you're in an extra-curricular, you're still deployed etc - so you couldn't be professional in that thing, because you can't guarantee you're around (unless it's a special situation, eg athlete Kelly Holmes working in Army recruitment while competing at a top level - but she was funded because she was such a great recruitment advert, a double Olympic champion - and that's just 1 person, not a football team)

[Audrey2]

I'm not sure how it is done now, but I remember this about Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach. He graduated from the U.S. Navel Academy, served his time in the Navy, then played for the Cowboys in the NFL. 

(Yes, I'm just a font of useless knowledge).

Just looked him up:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Staubach

He won the Heisman Trophy for the best college football (U.S.) in 1963, then served in the US Navy. He even served a tour of duty in Vietnam. He started playing for the Cowboys in 1969 and played all 11 years with him. Another interesting fact- he was colorblind, so he was commissioned directly into the Supply Corps. He volunteered to go to Vietnam.

Upon further research, for a time, athletes could be placed on reserve instead of active duty. This has just been changed, and graduates must serve their two year enlistment before going pro.

http://fox43.com/2017/05/02/military-academy-athletes-must-serve-before-going-pro/

 

[PennySycamore]

@Audrey2,  I was just going to mention Roger Staubach!  I still remember when he played for the Cowboys.  Heck, I could probably remember when he played for Navy.

[Minionmayhem]

16 hours ago, itqitc said:

We are in the middle of selling our house to someone who is using a VA loan to buy it.  While I am thankful for his service and glad he is able to use it, holy hell is it a pain as a seller.   There can be no paint chipping, we have to pay for an terminate inspection, everything has to be perfect. 

Oh how I have felt your pain. Last year I found myself painting the exterior second story of a 200 year old barn in the snow just trying to be compliant with the VA requirements. Thankfully it all went through, but it was 3 full months from accepted offer to closing and a lot of stress. I wish you the absolute best of luck with your sale. 

[FreeCalifornia]

2 hours ago, Lurky said:

Yes, I thought this too - so if you're in the army in the UK, and you're in an extra-curricular, you're still deployed etc - so you couldn't be professional in that thing, because you can't guarantee you're around (unless it's a special situation, eg athlete Kelly Holmes working in Army recruitment while competing at a top level - but she was funded because she was such a great recruitment advert, a double Olympic champion - and that's just 1 person, not a football team)

I believe part of it depends on what your assigned job is in whatever branch you are in.

I had a friend who went to the air force academy and played trumpet in the air force band. His JOB with the air force was to play trumpet. I'm sure he could have been reassigned at the  discretion  of the air force. But he never really feared being deployed in a war zone as they'd not need the band there

[MadeItOut]

6 hours ago, Greendoor said:

 

OK - brussels sprouts as I do them 

Par-boil (about  3mins  max , Cut in half and arrange in casserole that has about 2tbsp of melted butter in it.  Add your crumbled bacon, and a sweet bit of maple syrup.  Bake.  Eat,  Take a second helping. 

 

Mmmmm only seconds? No thirds?  sprouts rock!

[SapphireSlytherin]

How I prep brussels sprouts:  throw them in the trash. (DH loves them)

[closetcagebaby]

My guy makes sprouts by cooking bacon, taking it out of the pan & cutting it up, then cooking the sprouts with sliced garlic in the bacon grease until they're crispy. Add the bacon back in and eat them until they're gone!

[OldFadedStar]

8 hours ago, sparklymagie said:

 The Armed Services also has choirs, bands, etc that are really talented and do shows.  I don't think participation prevents you from being deployed or actively serving.  I always thought they were kind of recruitment tools like "See? You can still participate in things you love if you join the military, just like if you went to college!" Admittedly, I could be wrong. 

 

The choirs and bands tend to be their actual job within the military. I've had friends who were band members in both the Army and Navy. They still deploy, they just more go on tour than typical deployments. Friends husband played tuba I believe in the Navy. He was on a ship in Japan that would go to various ports in Asia and they would perform while there. Then sometimes they would fly out to those places to just do a show. 

 

[calimojo]

2 hours ago, closetcagebaby said:

My guy makes sprouts by cooking bacon, taking it out of the pan & cutting it up, then cooking the sprouts with sliced garlic in the bacon grease until they're crispy. Add the bacon back in and eat them until they're gone!

If you pan fry/saute almost any kind of meat, Chicken, Steak, Pork, Bacon,  you can then coarsely chop up the sprouts and use the same pan to saute them in and they will pick up the flavors from the meat.  Add more olive oil to the pan and a smidge of butter.  I like my Brussels' sprouts really crispy, but cook to your desired crispiness.  About 30-60 seconds before removing from the heat, toss in some coarsely chopped pecans,  and then top it all off with a generous amount of good quality parmigiano regiano cheese.  Honestly so tasty.  Ignore the strong smell when cooking.  When you are done it just all tastes so nutty and yummy and the sprouts just pick up the other flavors really well.  Adding bacon is good, but I have also made it with thinly sliced and diced brown sugar ham from the deli.  You can crisp up that ham first in the pan, and then toss it in at the end of cooking the sprouts. 

If you don't have access to fresh Brussels' sprouts, you can do something similar with finely chopped cabbage.  You can also toss in onions, or carrot shreds also.  They add a sweetness to the dish. 

 

Back to Jinger/Jer.  I find it interesting that there was a stupid contrived storyline on Counting On with Jill and Jessa supposedly househunting, and right around the same time,  Jinger and Jeremy actually were house hunting.  That had the potential to actually be interesting and they don't show that on the show?  Are the producers just really lazy, dumb or truly just don't care and they are going through the motions?