Maxwell 12: Eleven years of blogging, still got nothing to say

[Palimpsest]

56 minutes ago, meee said:

 And I really seriously think she has undiagnosed depression or something and could really benefit from therapy.  I'm sure there are Christian therapists out there.

Teri has struggled with major depression. It is one of the biggest Maxwell talking points and their best claim to God-given superiority. Possibly postpartum depression, although being married to Stevo would probably give anyone situational depression.

Steve sheltered his wounded sheep, cured her depression by getting his vasectomy reversed (Whoa Mama, if it was postpartum!), OTC progesterone cream (because Teri's depression was "hormonal" not evidence of sin), and the Almighty Schedule!

Oh, and she saw a Christian Therapist (qualifications unknown) once.  

Here's one of the many posts on the subject.

http://articles.titus2.com/a-journey-through-depression/

[meee]

Right, but I was under the impression that it was only postpartum depression.  I meant, I think she is still dealing with it and it's not related to PPD.

[vspielman]

17 minutes ago, Palimpsest said:

although being married to Stevo would probably give anyone situational depression.

This made me SNICKER!!

[Corntree]

Teri's post about taking 4 weeks to sew on a button is her admitting she's not perfect. I'm not going to shit on someone for that. I'm a procrastinator myself, and I suffer from depression, as some have speculated Teri still does. Y'all wouldn't want to know how long it takes me to do basic things around the house.

[Palimpsest]

26 minutes ago, meee said:

Right, but I was under the impression that it was only postpartum depression.  I meant, I think she is still dealing with it and it's not related to PPD.

Goodness knows.  I don't think that Teri is actually depressed today.  She claims to be fully recovered (thanks to God) and I think she functions very well at conferences and such-like spreading Steve's poison.  

6 minutes ago, Corntree said:

Teri's post about taking 4 weeks to sew on a button is her admitting she's not perfect. I'm not going to shit on someone for that. I'm a procrastinator myself, and I suffer from depression, as some have speculated Teri still does. Y'all wouldn't want to know how long it takes me to do basic things around the house.

Teri is my age.  I felt similarly dis-empowered in the 70s.  I have also gone through major depressions.  They lurk around the corner for me every day.  But I have meds.

Teri has, IMO, fully embraced the wounded sheep role.  She is also a person who fails to protect her children, and is as (possibly deliberately) dippy as the day is long to absolve herself from any and all responsibility.

I'm sorry but I am tired of cutting Teri slack.  She's poison in her own way.  Yup.  Poison.

I have seen dear Teri in action.  Functional, a good speaker, and preaching pure poison with conviction.  Up to her dirty little neck in the poison.

I also think Sarah is depressed and terrified.  I think she needs help too.  Can we have some sympathy for poor Sarah - brought up in dysfunction and with no help in sight ...

[fundiefan]

If I need to sew a damn button, I do it. No god involved. No self analyzing. No need to gather supplies. They're all in the same place anyway.  In less than five minutes I can grab the button, the garment it needs to go on, thread the needle, whip it around the button a few times and done. It says absolutely nothing about my character, planning or organizing ability or god or anything else. 

They make every damn thing hard. Every. Damn. Thing. 

No wonder the kidults are scared of the world. If sewing a button is such a major thing it's no wonder they hide in the corner and whimper at the thought of the things one needs to do every day, all day, in order to just live.

[bertnee]

Are the Maxwells trolling us? Sometimes I can't believe this is really how they live.

[SPHASH]

I salute anyone who can see a button cuz I sure as hell can't.  Not even freshman Home Ec back in high school could help me. Interesting take on Stud John in that blog post.  Coward Steve has really fucked his kids over.

[Odd1Out]

I'm not sure if it's just an excuse for Teri to post about an 'imperfection' she has to make herself more relatable to all us imperfect people, or if she really has an anxiety/depression issue. I can see that if the thought of having to gather up a list of supplies seems overwhelming to her. But with the girls being seamstresses you would think it would all be together already. Or why does she not ask one of the many people living in the house to help her. 

 

[Lady Grass Lake]

I bought a cute little sewing basket with a 50% of coupon at JoAnn Fabrics, so cost me about 12 dollars, then I put in a few smaller spools of thread white, brown, black, safety pins, needles, scissors, and other small notions.   I keep it in the kitchen.   But the key piece of my sewing kit is a 1$ bottle of clear nail polish from the dollar store.   Any new article of clothing with buttons, before the first wash, get a drop of nail polish on the top of every  button, soaking the thread used to sew the button on. Don't fold the garment up until the nail polish dries, only takes a few minutes.  

 

This keeps most button put because the nail polish won't let the thread unravel.  I also do this to the buttons that are sewn into the side seam or underside  of a garment so the spare doesn't disappear either.   I taught both my boys how to replace a button and they each have their own little sewing kit (makes a great stocking stuffer) that includes their own bottle of nail polish.  A little bit of prevention keeps most buttons in place.  

 

I also found a little kit in the notions aisle that has a few white shirt buttons that work almost like a pierced earring, or a tuxedo stud, with the button having the post and a flat back that goes on the other side of the shirt as a temporary button.   

[FloraDoraDolly]

16 hours ago, Dark Matters said:

Just read this today and the blogger used John as an example of non-socialization by homeschoolers. http://whencowsandkidscollide.blogspot.com/2017/08/homeschooling-badly-other-socialization.html

How long before Steve posts a response? (Not that he will mention the article. Rather, he'll write a seemingly random rant about how important it is to shelter your kids even if it means sacrificing future business contacts.)

[Granwych]

12 hours ago, hoipolloi said:

Sewing a button back on = project? Only in Maxhell.

I am perhaps the biggest procrastinator in modern history, but I can see a loose button and sew it on in about 5 minutes.  Sheesh, Maxwells, you're losing it.

1 hour ago, FloraDoraDolly said:

How long before Steve posts a response? (Not that he will mention the article. Rather, he'll write a seemingly random rant about how important it is to shelter your kids even if it means sacrificing future business contacts.)

Why doesn't he just build a bunker underground, stuff it with doomsday supplies, and call it a day?

[nomoxian]

@scoutsadie If the button isn't way bigger than the hole, you can make the hole a bit bigger by using a stitch ripper and a small pair of scissors (like makeup scissors for cutting eyebrows) I've done that before when I have a special button I really want to use, but the hole isn't the right size.

[Seren Ann]

I don't know. I have anxiety and depression that drag me down every day and for me sewing on a button would be a whole project that might take me weeks to tackle (although I have the excuse of not knowing how to sew very well, I'd have to watch youtube videos before attempting it). Her trick of gathering the supplies with no expectation of doing it right then might actually even help. Really it's another version of the "break everything down into small steps" advice given to anxiety sufferers. I'll keep it in mind and give it a try when I get the opportunity.

What is frustrating is that there is no acknowledgement that she may have mental illness, or that this sterile hyper-scheduling is not the optimal way to function and live life for most people. It might be useful advice for people struggling with mental health, but it's not how most people want to live their lives. I guess it really grinds my gears how the Maxwells think they have the ultimate way of life and they must teach us all how to achieve their perfection.

[Eternalbluepearl]

7 hours ago, FloraDoraDolly said:

How long before Steve posts a response? (Not that he will mention the article. Rather, he'll write a seemingly random rant about how important it is to shelter your kids even if it means sacrificing future business contacts.)

Jesus is the only business contact you need. 

[nomoxian]

1 hour ago, Eternalbluepearl said:

Jesus is the only business contact you need. 

What about Mary and Joseph?

Actually, you don't need Mary. She should stay in the kitchen!

[catlady]

i've bought several little sewing kits at the dollar store and keep them in various locations* at home and work.  they have needles, thread, pins, buttons, and a little pair of scissors; the scissors are mostly crap, but i buy regular-sized ones at the dollar store that work fine.  as a result, i can sew a button on the fly (that didn't come out right....) without putting it on the schedule.    

*i buy multiples of lots of basics and store them around the house to eliminate the need to traipse around "gathering supplies."  i started this when i bought my 3-level house, put the toolbox in the basement, and subsequently needed a screwdriver on the second floor.  so now i have hammers, screwdrivers, boxes of screws/nails, scissors, sewing kits, tape measures, etc. in the basement, the kitchen, the upstairs linen closet, a cabinet on the porch, and the backyard shed.  saves a lot of time, because what i need is usually less than 15 feet away.  

@SPHASH, don't despair--my mending skills are rudimentary but self-taught.  i approach the situation with simple logic; you're basically either attaching an item or closing a gap.  if a bungee cord can hold a crate to the roof of a car, then a piece of thread can attach a plastic disc to a shirt.  of course, it's always easier to get someone else to do it...

[SPHASH]

Read the latest Seriously email.  All about loving your wife cuz God ordered you too.  Someone in the family went to a visitation and talked to the widow of the deceased.  Poor widow probably got the famous Maxwell death speech.

[albanuadh_1]

I can appreciate that Teri may still suffer from depression or perhaps hates sewing but they make a bit of a living telling people how to manage their time wisely! She needs to follow her advice. SCHEDULE mending for every 2nd Friday between 2:00 -2:15 p.m. and be done with it. If there is no mending, then read the Bible.

[Palimpsest]

5 hours ago, albanuadh_1 said:

they make a bit of a living telling people how to manage their time wisely! She needs to follow her advice.

And per Maxwell lore, Teri is totally CURED!  Cured, I tell you!  No ebil drugs necessary.  

Why do we persist in thinking she is struggling in depression? - she is OK!  Prayer, schedules, more babies, progesterone cream and Stevo fixed it.  Why do we not believe them?

Back to reality:  Teri probably still struggles because she is not, was not, cured by God.  Much though Steve wants her to be.  

I do think that 90% of Maxwell posts are clumsy attempts at making up silly analogies to make a "religious" point.  They are just completely out of touch with reality - and the results are so very snarkable.

Really, Teri.  Use a better analogy for procrastinating in the future.  You are "cured" so you really should not need to sweat "gathering supplies" to sew on one button.

And the cayenne pepper instead of cinnamon was just as ridiculous.  

 

[Ozlsn]

12 hours ago, Eternalbluepearl said:

Jesus is the only business contact you need. 

Yeah but does he pay cash?

[HoneyBunny]

26 minutes ago, Ozlsn said:

Yeah but does he pay cash?

No but His credit score is 840. Still owes for the drinks at the Last Supper and it's preventing him from maxing it out. 

[FloraDoraDolly]

3 hours ago, HoneyBunny said:

No but His credit score is 840. Still owes for the drinks at the Last Supper and it's preventing him from maxing it out. 

Aw, come on, disciples! After everything Jesus has been through, y'all could at least pay for the drinks!

[SPHASH]

New post up.  Coward Steve and Griselda Teri hiked Jones Mountain on Mystery Day.

[crawfishgirl]

I just read her latest post regarding her vacation.  CO is a beautiful state.  I think that one of the reasons they choose the same vacation each year is due to their isolation.  At least everyone is covered up in the mountains and they don't run into many other people - can't say the same for most other summer vacation destinations.  I think that they try to avoid people in shorts as much as possible.  I wonder if it's ever occurred to them to choose something different?  I can't imagine that of the five chidults at home, none of them have ever thought about visiting a different place one year.  Maybe it wasn't such an issue in the past since they used to travel often for their conferences (and of course everyone was 'modest' and like-minded at their conferences) and their CO vacation was a good way to unwind.  I wonder if it would be too exciting and off-schedule to visit the mountains in a different location - CO has other options, and UT and WY both border it and have good locations as well.  I've heard that UT has a few people who are modest in their prairie dresses.... 

It might be fun for them to try to hike a mountain that they haven't hiked before - a better test of their skills, and still be around modestly-dressed people. We have a few vacation sites that we have visited multiple times because we enjoy it, but we try not to do so for two years in a row.  

I live near the gulf coast, and most people dress for the weather - in other words, shorts and tank tops are common.  Beach vacations are close and easy and usually inexpensive, but you will definitely run into many other people, and they might actually be showing knees or collarbones or more...  I feel sorry for the Maxwells, since that would bother them so much that they probably couldn't even handle the visit.