Hello.
Hello, It's Jackie Gildschneider and Jen Besler. We are two Jersey Jays. Hi, guys, I cannot believe that it is November.
Right since we are here in New Jersey. One of the good things is these is the leaves changing. It's beautiful, it really is.
I know, I feel like I'm getting really hokey as i get older, but I drive down the street and I'm like, it's just so pretty.
It is it is, it is. That's one of the good That's the news about not living in Florida, which is, I know, I love the seasons.
I don't think I'll ever be able to leave. Like I went to college in Boston and it was very, very cold.
Yeah, and I was.
Like, you know, I hope my kids go somewhere that's a little bit warmer, but I still want them.
To have the seasons. Yeah, and I do love fall, but I can do without winter. Oh it's so cold. The worst maybe it's snowbird. But the good news is because fall is in fact here, so is drummer leaves. Well. Thanksgiving, I know, I love Thanksgiving.
I didn't always love Thanksgiving either, but I love Thanksgivting.
Now it's funny because, oh, by the way, you guys were talking about Thanksgiving today, which I'm really excited about. I actually my kids recently before we even decided to do this episode on Thanksgiving, I guess, we were in the car and talking about it. My niece was there too, and I was like, you know, you guys excited for Thanksgiving and I want to say that my son is like, oh my god, yes, the best day of the year.
And Danielle, my niece, chimed in, and Rachel chimed in, and it's like, makes me so unbelievably happy that they feel that way.
Yeah, and you like, you're an empty nester, so to have your kids back home now they live in this city, so they like do they sleep over though Thanksgiving?
Yeah?
Yeah, so we don't have that full house again, and like the smells of the season and just like how it's not cold, but it's not warm, and it's just so festive and everyone's together. The thing is now, as I get older, it makes me sad sometimes, like the happiness is mixed with sadness and I wish that it wasn't. But I like when I think back on old Thanksgivings, I missed my grandparents. I'm sad about my parents getting older.
I get nervous. Is this my dad's last night? I hope my dad's not listening, But like I always think, like, is this my dad's last Thanksgiving? Is this my father in law's last Thanksgiving? I get nervous and sad, and I wish I didn't let those thoughts come in, but they do, And I think I think that's probably the case for a lot of people.
We always my in laws have passed, and you know, Thanksgiving was for us. There's so many traditions, and one of them was that my father in law made every year this antipast. So my father in law was Jewish and my mother in law is Italian, and my father in law was in love with his mother in law, so she used to make this antipast and every year he used to make it, and none of us really
ate it. It was huge. It was like all these Italian meats and cheeses and those little gurkins, and like at one point I think he even put like sardines or something thing. And to this day now we make it. Jeff and Rachel make it. Oh well, I can't say no one needs to. I think Jeff likes it. Maybe people, but it always ends up in this big ziplock gets slimy. I sneak it into the garbage, but it's like, we'll never not make it because it's just.
It's a traditions, all right, So what are your other traditions? What was it like for you growing up?
So I was thinking about this, Jack, I don't have that many memories of Thanksgiving growing up. I really don't, Like I was thinking back now. I mean, my life was a very very chaotic, to put it mildly, childhood, and so I don't remember if I was with my mom with my dad. Like I'm telling you, I was thinking about it, and it just wasn't It's not a memorable part of my childhood. And maybe that's why I turned into When I first got married and had kids,
I became Martha Stewart around this time. I mean I had like I was watching the Food Network. I was getting the Food Network magazine, and I like, this is not to know me now, is to know like that's seems so far from who I actually am. I was combing through recipes. It made me so happy to watch just I had the Food Network on like a loop but as maybe because as a kid it wasn't that's special. I don't remember it being I remember maybe in my twenties going to my aunt's doing it with my cousins,
but it wasn't like it is now. Now it's like this huge part of how many people do do you host? My host? Okay? And how many people? A lot? Depending some years is more than more than others. I think it's your maybe twenty five. Oh wow, that's a lot.
Yeah, yeah, we started hosting. You know, my Thanksgivings as an adult have been.
Very like split up.
Yeah, because you know so, I'm estranged from my sister, and so we never had Thanksgiving as a family, so as a full family, but I don't really even know her, so it's like weird to me, like it always felt like a full family, but I knew she wasn't there.
So my parents were very split in the middle of course. And what about growing up though? Were you growing up?
She was always there, but always like we never going directed, no, no, no. We always had all four of my grandparents and my dad had a brother, and his brother and his wife and two kids would come. I'm I'm his sister, the sister and her husband and their kids would come, so we always had a very full house. Yeah, because I had four cousins who were right around my age. I did lose one of my cousins when I was in my twenties. Yeah, he had a heart attack.
My gosh, awful.
But I had four cousins that were right around my age, and we just had the best time together exactly. And I was always, you know, my brother, we always had a good time together, and my sister didn't really interact that much, but you know, it was like I always had a great time.
I had the what I do remember the Thanksgivings when I was in my twenties because I was living in New York and I'd go to my aunt and uncles and my cousins. Like being with my cousins was always just both Robin and myself. That was just the best. I know, it really was.
Like That's one thing I'm so grateful for is even though I don't speak to my sister, my kids and their cousins are very close. I mean they were a little older, but like Friday, We're.
Going to have dinner with my parents and my cousins. Their cousins are coming, Like.
They really do love each other, but there's a there's a pretty big age gap.
So it's nice that you guys were able to. Yeah, that's not an easy care anymore, what's you know?
I mean, like I it is, and as they get older, it's even harder because everyone has their own lives and you know too, are in college and so it's just hard. But anyway, so we were all split up for so every Thanksgiving was my parents would go to me one and then we would go to Evan's parents on the year that we weren't with my parents. And then in recent years it just got too hard for our parents
to go through the whole Thanksgiving set up. So it was a lot for Evan's parents are both in their mid eighties and.
It's a lot for them to host, just like I've hosted year for the past. I always since I probably since I got married, we've been hosting. But I just had this like memory of my mother in law and she was sickly, but she for years she would get wheeled in in the same coat. It's like it had she's like leather with fur, and she always had her aid with her and we'd wheel her in and I would help her take off her coat, and she was
so excited about Thanksgiving. But she was and she was so easy, like my in laws were both just the most like loving, wonderful, easy people. And she would just sit there like actually cry a little because she was like, I don't know, I feel bad for Jeff. Thanks, thanks, thanks for saying it. Yeah, now it's good. You just ruined my whole Thanksgiving. No, but I just I miss that, I missed just her presence, you know. But yeah, and she loved it. So she loved the food.
I have to say that I'm very lucky. Also, I have wonderful in laws, so I do look forward to these holidays that were all together. And this year my parents and Evan's parents are both coming to me, so it's really nice. And Evan's sister and my brother and.
So it's nice, you know. Good.
I'll tell you one really funny, okay Thanksgiving story. Okay, when I was in law school, I had a boyfriend and his It was just him and his.
Brother were the kids, two boys.
And their mom super super warm, very warm. And my parents got close to their parents and they came over for Thanksgiving one year when we were together, and his mom had way too much wine at the Thanksgiving table, and you know, we were in the early twenties. We weren't getting married yet, you know, but like we were starting to like think about serious and his mom got really drunk at the table at the Thanksgiving table and she said, really loud.
She said, I'm always going to be your best girl, right.
And my mom looked at me and she was like, did you just hear what to say?
And she repeated that line to me like for years afterwards. She was like, I'm always going to be your best girl, right. Oh my god, that's so I know.
But I's a perfect Thanksgiving story. Yeah, And he was like, oh, like he didn't know what to say.
But yeah, obviously what I'll say to my son. At some point. I didn't end up marrying him, but not because of that. Well, that would have been a good enough reason. Yeah. I asked my kids. I sent like a family uh text whatever, a group text, and I said to them, we're doing this Thanksgiving podcasts, you know. And it's funny because I'm so happy to ask them because I'm just so curious because they did recently say it.
It's like their favorite Like, what do you have any like funny things that you remember, and I got like flooded. Oh tell me something that was really cool. Well, some were not that funny, but like so Rachel sent me one that said, when you guys were like where the kids. The kids were always in the basement hanging out doing their things, so cute that they all would go down there,
even like the younger ones. And it was years before he realized they were down there getting baked, Like, oh no way, Like every Thanksgiving my kids were like in high school, and the older cousins would they come back up stairs and eat everything insight. But who knew, I mean it was Thanksgiving now we all just join them.
And then one of my cousins. The cousins always bring their animals and not this year because we have these ugly cats, but whatever, but one of the dogs got out and chased the neighbor's cat up the tree, and for hours we were all dealing with this. There were so many like glitches all the time, which just like makes it kind of fun. My kids also, they're so
tied into the traditions. Like I say to them every year, I get so sick of the same Thanksgiving food and they're so sentimental about it, which also secretly like makes me so happy. So but it's like the same stupid like games every So, like Jeff has this thing and he has to make the sweet potatoes the yams, and he makes a whole production out of it, and how great they are. He literally takes cans of yams, MUSHes
them up, puts some brown sugar and marshmallows. But it's a whole thing about his secret recipe, and Daddy has to make the yams or maybe in there. I mean, one can only hope because they get so much attention. But like every like, it has to be for cooking something I love. Really, that's not cooking, that's that's oh my god, I cook not you don't. No, I don't cook. Well, A big reason.
Why I don't cook is because for twenty years I didn't eat, so I never wanted to taste. When you're anorexic, like every bite matters, So I never wanted to taste anything that I was cooking. So since I couldn't taste it, want to subject everyone else to it.
So I never cooked. Now will you? Now, I'm just really not interesting.
We just order in yeah with cater Well, for many years, we were members of a country club, so we would cater from there because we had this money amount that we had to ease out dining, and we never went there when we would go out to eat, so we never really used the money. So we'd cater in the holidays. Now we cater from a local place. Yeah, it's delishous.
I mean yeah, even if I wanted to or even to change it up, I feel guilty because it's like the one day a year it's this big family event. I know everybody is gets so excited for it, and I didn't have this growing up like it is so such a cherished I'm so proud of myself, first of all that I have hosted it, and that I've given this to my kids, and because again I can't even remember Thanksgiving as a kid, and I know these are like for my kids to say it's the best day
of the year. But like silly things like so I like prep the turkey with my best friend, you know, my friend Helene, So her and I since the kids were very little, for whatever reason, I figured out how to do turkey and she had this recipe for brisket. So neither one of us ever writes it down and we're on the phone all day figuring it out, like remembering again. And then you put this in the brisket and this ginger ale and this and whatever the turkey do you tie it so like that's fun. And then
we get ready. And then at two in the morning, Jeff and I wake up because we want our ovens to be empty. And plus you put like hot gravy on it, and we put it in. We put the turkey in the morning to do this. We get like twenty five pound turkey, kind a turkey breast, so we put it all links. We win our ovens free like once every cause my family starts pouring in at like nine am. Wow, we start pouring mimosas at like well nine am. So but when the kids wake up, like
the whole house smells like turkey. Oh, I know that's so nice. Week.
Can I tell you one story from last year? And then we'll get into some of our stuff. But you know, I'm a real sucker from my dad, and so we order all our Thanksgiving stuff like weeks and weeks in advance. And so my dad calls me two days before Thanksgiving and he says, Jackie, I want a fried turkey this year, and I'm like, a fried turkey, I don't know what to be getting, you know. So he's like, do you think you can get one? I said, all right, I'll
figure it out, right. So I call the place we cat it from and they're like, yeah, we're definitely not going to be able to give you a fried turkey right now, like we're totally done taking orders. So I sit down on my computer and I call every place within a half hour radius or a forty five minute radius where I could get a fried turkey, and there is just none to be had. So I go on some like online you're not going to tell me you got a fright?
Wait? No, I didn't, Okay.
So I go on this online forum and there's a bunch of people saying, don't judge me, okay, no room to day that the best fried turkeys are at Popeyes. So Evan's like, you are not getting Popeyes for they told me so anyway, I'm like, all right, I got come through from my dad because I promised.
So I go to Popeye's the day before.
So it turns out that fried turkey is not like a deep fried turkey, Like there's not like a batter crust on like fried chicken. It's this way of I think it means like it's like a Cajun rub spice. I mean it's like a little bit denser than a regular turkey. But anyway, I go to Popeyes, I'm like, do you.
Have a fried turkey.
It's not fully cooked, it's marinated in this like fried Cajun Southern whatever. I get the fried turkey, it take it home. I stick it in the oven, I cook it, I bring it out. I'm like, this is this is the fried turkey. He's like, all right, let me tell you. My entire family ignored the regular turkey that come on. It was so good. It was so so good.
This year I'm getting it. I mean, this year, I'm not going to get it from Popeyes, but the fried turkey, and it's the best. Yeah. It was delicious. I was really like juicy inside.
Wow.
Yeah you go. Jeff starts thinking about Thanksgiving literally, like I don't know, halfway through October, already has his order in it. Goffle Farms. Goffle Farms. Is this farm? Do they go? Yeah? Fresh killed? I feel like one episode of the New Jersey Housewives, Teresa and Joe Joe, jud Dicey might have gone and picked up their turkey at like a fresh kill place, maybe Goffle Farms. Oh really well, probably everything's local.
That wasn't the episode where they were sitting at the picnic table and he took the phone call.
No, no, no, no, this is Thanksgiving. Wasn't that like a vineyard? And yeah, I think those Italy or who knows, Oh, I don't know, but this was no, this was like Thanksgiving time and like they went and Esa had on. I don't know why all of a sudden that popped into my head, but anyway, so Jeff orders it and I go and pick it up usually for whatever reason, and I get so upset because you can like they're fresh killed, and it's like you see the turkeys like
rooming around. No I know, you know, So so what do you do? So everybody comes, everybody start point, momoses and so listen. My family is big and loving and dysfunctional, So it's not like there's always if you stop and listen, somebody's whispering about somebody in some corner, like that's that's just the way you guys be talking about politics. I don't think so I don't think, well, we've gotten into it a few years, and I don't I don't think
there was a year you have a big divide. Things have shifted somewhat, but there was a year it didn't start at Thanksgiving, but my cousin, one of my cousins, didn't even come to Thanksgiving because her and I had had such we were such a bad place because of politics, and which is so sad I think about it now. She's one of like the people I love the most in the world, and I didn't speak to her for over a year. And it's funny because then they she
couldn't come because of her mother in law. And this year is the first year they're back in like four years, and I'm so everybody's so excited. But so I probably will put a like a ban on any political talk. I mean, it's the timing of it could be worse. Right, it's like right after the election. So I think that a few weeks nerves will be for a few weeks. I cannot ban my father from talking about anything.
My dad will do whatever he wants to do, which is what I love about him. Yeah, but he will do whatever he wants to do whenever he wants to do. Yeah, so good for him. I do want to get to because I just all of this like just I don't know. It makes me happy to talk about, but I want to know. Like you don't cook, I cook, but also like what do you guys have? Like I cook every year. I'm in charge of the turkey and the brisket, so those are the two biggies. And I also make these
cookies every year. I make them two days before I freeze them. Jeff makes yams and antipas. My kids always want to make something, but everything else is I just like give out assignments. Like everybody comes and there's so much food it is vulgar. But I am the best.
Now I can make turkey and brisket like with the best of them. Really, Oh my god, I'm so good.
I don't cook anything, but our policy is we get all the main course food and appetizer food, and we let everybody bring dessert or wine. Okay, So the grandparents love bringing dessert because it's really the kids who eat the dessert and it makes them happy to make the kids happy.
So we leave that to them.
And my mother and father live in Central New Jersey and there's all these farms around that, so they go to this place called wem Rock and get like these most delicious pies. So yeah, Thanksgiving for me for many years was you know, like a very joyous holiday because I loved being with family. But the food, the food, you know, everything with food was always an issue for me.
But Thanksgiving in particular, there's so much emphasis on not just eating, on overeating, yes, and it was always a really really uncomfortable setting for me because my rules never there was never any like leniency in the way that I ate, and so it was really hard for me to get around that at the Thanksgiving table, like to fake it and to be able to not eat and your family pick up on it. I mean, everybody knew I was sick.
There was nothing you could do.
But for a long time, it was really uncomfortable for me to sit there while everyone just kept eating and eating and eating, and for me to have eaten my portion and not be able to like you know, to give myself any flexibility. It was very very hard for me. But I do remember so before I was anorexic, I was always a very big yoyo dieter. My first diet weight Watchers nineteen ninety four. After that, I was a humongous yoyo diter. I mean like up twenty town, twenty twenty, down.
Twenty yes and came to the right place.
My sophomore year in college, I came home from school and I had gained a little bit of weight, which always very very hard for me to come home. When I gained weight, I never felt good about myself. I didn't want to see anybody.
Especially see my dad and my mom too.
But it was like everybody people from high school, even my parents, my dad, you know, like they wouldn't say anything, but like I could tell that they could tell, you know, Like I just always felt very bad and I felt terrible about myself. And that Thanksgiving was the only time I ever like really binge. I remember just eating a pie and I couldn't stop, and I was just eating the pie and eating the pie, and I was like fuck it, and I just kept eating the pie and
I canceled all my plans. I didn't have that many friends in high school. I had a really hard time in high school, but I did have some plans that weekend, and I canceled all them.
I could literally couldn't even button my pants and I felt sick to my stomach.
And you know, even in recovery, Thanksgiving is one of those holidays where I feel this pressure to eat more than I want to eat. So it's always it's always been a pretty loaded holiday from a food perspective, just me.
But I do enjoy now being.
Able to eat everything and taste everything, and I give myself, you know, of course, permission to eat everything that I want, but I also.
Try to stop. Well, we get full, it's because you're and I hate this, because we have. We start eating appetizers and whatever, and then by the time dinner is served, there's been so much picking and that like we sit down for I don't know, maybe forty minutes and it's been so much prep, days of prep, and then so full,
so sick, bring out dessert anyway. And then usually what happens is the adult and I can't believe I'm saying that, but I mean the grandparents they leave now like everybody's still sort of hanging out and they don't sleep over, no, but then we all start eating again. Usually it's like, but what is.
It like on ozebic? If you don't mind me asking you out eat ozempic.
Yeah, I mean honestly, like the level of fullness that you get isn't like, oh God, I'm gonna die, Like it's.
Not I don't know fullness like that. I never eat to that level, which is like a mental thing.
I don't know. I don't even know the science behind it. But there are times when I like don't even like ozempics mozembic, Like I don't even feel it. It's like sometimes I do, sometimes I don't, but especially when I'm like looking forward to a meal, like even like tonight, we're going out for my niece's birthday, and so just like any other I guess person that doesn't like I really won't eat that much during the day to day
because I want to have like a great appetite. We're going to this I don't know, special dumpling place that she wants to go to. But are you hungry and you're not eating or you just don't even feel the hungry? No, I do, Oh I feel hunger. It's I can't. I mean, it's such a good question. I wish I had the answer. But yes, I am absolutely able to eat way more than I usually would enjoy it more. But Also, it's funny because Jeff got on recently what he got on ozmpic.
We always say ozempic, right, that's what that's the catch or whatever it is. And yeah, and he said to me, he's like, I'm gonna go off it because I want to have a really good appetite for Thanksgiving. He's never had a Thanksgiving on it, so which, yeah, you know, go for it. He tolerated, He's tolerated very well. He hasn't had he's lost like he needed to lose some weight because he just has tried everything and crazy diets.
And I just was worried because he's he's short, you know, and he is just this big belly and it's kind of dangerous when you're short, I think, but really short or really tall, right, and his grandfather had heart disease. So anyway, because he's not a vain person, he wasn't like, you know, you don't have to justify it to each through. I know, yeah I don't, but whatever, I mean, I don't agree with it when you don't.
My my issue is with the unregulated use, but that's for another time. Like if he's being if he needed it and for health reasons and he's watching himself and he was overweight, then go for it.
So he I don't know, he's lost like probably maybe eight pounds. Those we love it. It's just it's a very listen, we won't go too deep into this, but yeah, but everybody, when I find when people get on it, they're like, it's a very strange thing to not have your brain so preoccupied with food or to like get satiated.
And I, well, he did. It's a different thing. I always had eating disorder, not always, but in and out of eating disorders, but like I never knew what it was like to just not be in the mood, Yeah, to like push like alright, I'm done. I don't need that.
I mean, there are moments where I'm like, God, I could get rid of all of this. I could stop worrying about everything, sure, you know, but then I would never do it personally, because number one, that's not the way, that's not the relationship with food that I want for myself. But also the knowing that I'd have to be on it forever and that without it I would gain so much weight it would make me crazy mentally.
I know. So I get that. I fully get that. Yeah, anyway, Okay, let's transition. Do you shop? Do you go out that night shopping? So we used to not, well, that's not true. I guess it was still No, it was morning. But we used to get up on Thanksgiving and it used to be way colder. Whatever this is about global warming or whatever, but it used to be freezing on Thanksgiving here in New Jersey. And we would get up, especially my cousin Debbie and I, at like four o'clock in
the morning for Black Friday. We would yes, we would bundle up, we stop Dunkin Donuts. It was a lot of times it was four of us. I have two cousins and would be my sister and my two and we would go stand online. And this is at the time where like we had little ones, so like we'd stand online at Toys r Us and waiting to get in and then oh, Jackie, it was so much fun. I mean, I guess it wasn't when we were freezing,
but I have such great memories of it. Like Toys r Us is not even around anymore, which breaks my heart. But you know, it was the best and you get the yes and you'd get into that toy store and everything have let's say like a yellow tag and two for one, and you felt like you were I know. It was so fun, you know, Formonica.
I used to stick the kids in when they were really little, you know, so they were all really close in age.
They were only two years apart.
So when they were like four and two, I used to take them to the one in Paramus right so near where jen Aiden lives. And there was a huge choice of us and I'd have two in the wagon right and then two like.
Walking with me.
And I used to let them pick out like a few gifts each for Hankah, and it was just the funnest. I never like four hours, oh my god, and your little kid comes back in like I would want to go into the doll section. Now, Rachel, of course was never into dolls, right, she was always into like, you know, I don't know, different, and I wanted her because I
was so into baby dolls. And I would go into the doll section and like you're you know, you're inner, little girl all comes out and I just, I don't know, I loved it. I loved it, loved it, loved it, like I don't know.
That was toy stores.
They're so great, you know, toy stores and you know what else I miss video stores?
Really. I remember the smell of.
Video store, well sort of Blockbuster. There was this one on Staten Islands that we used to go to. My dad and I used to go every week, right, and it was called Selective Video. And I remember looking I used to look at the dirty covers.
Yeah, like and there was this movie spring Break.
Do you remember that movie spring Break where they went to Fort Lauderdale And on the cover there was like a girl in a bikini and her body was stretched out on the sand and like there was little figurines of all the guys walking on her body.
And I used to think it was like porn. I loved it.
I used to look at like the porky'st cover and like I thought it was like porn.
Yeah. I love the smell of a video So I love going in there because I love like it in the candy and the boxes. Yeah, that was your night, Like like are listening to do or don't remember that? But that was like TV simpler time.
God, everything was so much simpler and no phones and like the kids know, like the concept of the fact that we didn't have phones when we were growing up, but like how.
Beautiful and even just from then to now, like the times that we would go to toys r us. Now everything is online. We don't get up. We shot, we try to get out there, but even getting out there doesn't matter because we know that we could something about the fact that we could be home and on our computer and on getting Amazon Prime. It's like and it just took away. It takes away this. I know.
It makes me worry, like there's so many beautiful, real life things that are being missed. Yeah, that are just online. This is like a very glum sad. No, no, it's amazing. Listen, you're alive, you're breathing. It's thank god.
Hey, now you're.
Having family over for Thanksgiving. I have all four of my in laws, I have my four healthy kids.
Like, it's amazing. Do you guys do I like Black Friday because you're also thinking about the next celebration, which is whatever Christmas?
Like I am that jew who absolutely loves Christmas music.
Yeah, me too. Oh my god, you put me you tarn a candle and put on some Christmas music too. I don't cry at a Folders's commercial. I love it. I love Christmas specials. I love Christmas. I love fireplaces, I love Christmas trees. I love driving around my neighbor looking at the lights. Yep, I love all of it.
I love a friends giving. Yes, I love my friends around the holidays.
I love being cozy. Yeah, I love all of it. I do too. Yeah.
So I guess even with technology and online and social media.
There is there is still beautiful you know moments.
But I do think that it's a particularly hard time with social media for people who are lonely, who maybe don't have the family. But we'll do a loneliness episode one day, because I think that's an epidemic that really needs to be addressed. But I can't imagine like you and I having these wonderful thanksgivings. Yours are bigger than mine.
Mine are still, you know, super special. But like for people who have access to seeing what everybody else is doing and don't have that family must be very difficult.
You know. One of the things that I love is that somebody's always bringing someone, so there's always someone who hasn't been here before. And like this year, Zach is bringing one of his friends from law school. But the kids also either they have a boyfriend or a girlfriend or whatever, and it's fun to have like that person come back again and like join just somebody else, because you know, you get like you're looking at it through
somebody else's eyes kind of. And my family is nuts and completely over the top and loud, and I think that it's fun and funny. Yeah to be around. Yeah, you know, it's nice. Do you remember that story? I think it was Thanksgiving?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but where the old lady sent the Thanksgiving invite to the wrong number to this kid, and the kid said, you sent it to the wrong number, But I'd love to come. And it's been like a decade, and who's been going to her house every year?
I have it. I think it was Thanksgiving. Yeah, it's the most beautiful. I love it be Christmas, but I think it is Thanksgiving. I always have Thanksgiving. I was in both. My friend Lane and I both invite my We had a friend who passed from ovarian cancer quite a few years ago, and her husband also passed unexpectedly
when she was sick of a heart attack. So they had two kids, Oh wow, who and then at that point raised by their grandparents, who I'm very close to anyway, So this was a dear friend of ours, and so we always have them their grandparents and the boys always stop. I always want them to say, but they always have like reservations in the city. So but like every Thanksgiving, I don't get to see them a lot, so we get to see them and it's just like special. It's
just nice. It's like my whole family now knows them, and it's just things like you know, like I guess it's just like everything else goes away. I feel like, oh my god, I'm so happy we are talking about this. It makes me excited for it. I know, I do. I love it. I really really.
It reminds me that I have to put in my order. Oh god, looking, but it's late this year. It's the very end of November.
Yeah.
Last year, I remember on Black Friday, I took Alexus to get her ears pierced.
And because she really wanted a second hole, and.
I was like, I'll get some piercings too, So I have You're so funny.
You have like this rocktership.
Oh I want my entire back covert and tattoos. By the way, yes, I'm actively thinking about my guys.
So much.
So I've eight of them on my back and I only let myself get one a year, otherwise I will like, I'll Pete Davidson the hell and myself. But I although he's getting his removed, my getting like that, and I love they're so addictive. So I'm actively thinking about my next one send ideas.
But so I was like, all right, I'll get I'll get my ears pierced.
And I don't know if it's because I'm an old fuddy duddy or what, but like I got so, I got a third hole in one ear and a fourth hole in the other, and both of them like just did not work out. They were so painful, and now they are both ciss to look. They're like big white.
I know I have to get them like taken out, like I have to get them. I mean, like they closed up like you never saying listen, dude, oh you're old. I know this is such a this is like an aside, but you and I have got to at some point get to the bottom of the tattoo thing. No one can explain it to me. I look at my sister and my cousin, I'm like, why do you have one? Oh? Not one? No, you do. I had my eyelids, my eyeliner. Now you have that one. No, I took it off
a long time ago. I had them when I was separated. You guys that I'm not sure. Okay, No, I didn't mean to blow up your spot and you can. Doesn't matter. But I had one, a really stupid one that when Jeff and I were separated and I had this boyfriend and we were wasted in Miami and I got this tattoo. And it's it's really not a good story. I don't even know that. I kind of I'd like to be an open book. It was a really really stupid move. I just let's just leave it there for now. Maybe
we'll cover that another time. But anyway, that's removed. But I didn't get it. I almost got it. Whatever, I've never been into tattoos, but I don't get what is the well.
I didn't get my first one until I was thirty eight, and then I've gotten one like almost.
Every year since. All right, sorry, so all right, so we digress. So Black Friday.
I do love shopping on Black Friday, but I don't love crowds.
I love crowds, I don't love it. Like when you're hot and you brought your jacket and it's like it's on, it's off, you're sick of it whatever. But at the beginning, I love it because I love like being in the source with the Christmas used to playing like and I love a deal.
Yeah, I do remember in college the Macy's near me used to make the most festive, like everything was just like red velvet and.
Smelled like pumpkin. Yes, oh god, I used to.
When I would get homesick in college, I would go over to the Maces and just like stroll around and like feel cozy.
Really yeah, I love that. I love the Maces in New York City used to work right across the street at holiday time. That was also very cool. I know, I love the holidays in New York. You know, so yeah, so Black Friday. I don't know what deals where you ask Jeff Vessel right now, Like we are spending money recently, like it's just going out of style. We just had our boiler break. I don't know how much money we're spending on on guys here. Yeah, that was a quick
fifteen thousand dollars and then traveling even Vegas. We went to Vegas for my birthday. For everything is a fortune.
Everything is so expensive. My kids don't even understand money, and they just want and want and like you want to give them, but you.
Also listen Jack, I mean my kids there, Yeah, we spoil them. But my son is definitely very money conscious and like now that he's in school, but he's very He made money, you worked for a couple of years. My daughter not as much. But we're working on it. Yeah. But I just I love shopping. I love and I love getting a deal. So I love Black Friday. I love getting into Cyber Monday. Or yes, okay, so Black Friday.
What else before we talk about something a little deeper in terms of gratitude and thanksgiving to all the guys. I know that sounds access, But to do people leave to watch football? Yes? Yes, and they all go sit on the couch.
That's a nice moment when like everybody is full and everything was successful and everyone got along and then you all go like just sit, you have.
A glass of wine and.
Watch football and talk. That's that's maybe one of my favorite parts.
I don't watch football. I'm actually trying to recently like understand it. My you know, my son and my husband had been obsessed with football it's whatever. So I'm trying because it's just always on in my house. But anyway, yeah, I love that too. Well, they're Giants fans, right, yes, are the Giants staying well? I don't know. My family is Jet fans, okay, and the Jets never do well and they are Now. Do you know that my son is named after the Jets?
No?
Yeah.
So when we had our first set of twins, I said to Evan, because my maiden name is A is a first name, so I said, it's Mark, and I said, I would like our firstborn son to be named after my family name. His middle name to be Mark because I love it. That's done. Like my brother didn't have kids, and my only male cousin is not here. Oh he wasn't Mark anyway, but yeah, so my last name is pretty much done okay. And so he said, yeah, that's great,
that's fine. I want this baby be I want his middle name to be after the Jets.
And I said, well, what are you thinking? He said, Jet? So Aiden's name is Aiden Jet.
I said, though, I said, you can if you do this, you can never say this is not my team anymore.
You can never give up on the seam.
So every year when he screams like I'm getting done with this team. I hate this team. I said, no, you can't. You named our child after them, said with them forever?
Yeah no, I mean my were a Giants family, whatever that means. But if you to know Jeff Wesler is to know to never probably ever hear him scream or escalate really except when he's watching football and he's so I think to myself, this is like his outlet, Like he's he has all this rage apparently from knows where it comes from that and the only time that he gets to like release it is around fort It's like there's a different pert. So he's not even the same person.
He starts screaming, and it doesn't matter what time it is. I could be sleeping as Kevin too. He doesn't anything except sport. It's the weirdest thing. Yeah, Jack, you had made a list of like just fun like conversations.
Yeah, like if you run out of things to talk about at the Thanksgiving table, like conversation starters. Okay, So if you could only eat one thing for the rest of your.
Life, what would it be? That's always easy because like I love the question of like if you're going to the chair, to the electric chair. God forbid, Big Mac extra pickles hot though, Like, haven't hit Mac extra pickle? Oh my god, I haven't had it since in the cakes? Oh my god?
Good?
Is it good? Well, I'm telling you it's the last thing that I would eat with like French eyes, like they have to come right off of the thing.
I think I would get myself like like a ton of hot bread and butter.
Yeah, and just eat that. I can hear. I can hear that. I mean pizza, pasta bread. But if it's my if that's it, Big Mac, Oh my god hot. All right, Well, if I ever decided to eat a big Mac, I want to do it with you. Please do please. Oh that's a good one. Oh my gosh. What do you think was the best prank you ever pulled? Can I tell you what?
One of my favorite moments, yes, ever, was when you and I first started becoming friends.
Do you know what I'm going to say?
When you and I first started becoming friends. Okay, so we were going to Ireland. Jenna and I really were getting.
Like to be close friends.
But anyway, I sort of started noticing that you really was like funny and goofy and we had only known each other for a few months.
Yeah, and I actually say that you did this on purpose? Are you talking about the No? No, not not the luvas? Okay?
And we had to go shopping for Ireland, and I remember I called her and I was like, where are you? Like we were talking and she's like, I'm at nordstrum Man and I was at Nordstrom too, and I was like, okay, So I saw her in the department.
So I went into the same department.
She was by a rack and I crouched down next to the rack and I like reached through and I grabbed her.
She screamed. It was just the funniest I have not thought about that since it happened. Isn't that the fun So that was how I can't even believe that that was a million years at that time. So everything was really happy on the show. We had a group check go and imagine this everyone. We had a group chat with everyone and people weren't and not everybody was like there was every everybody. Every memory saw off of it because we wanted to get her things for because it
was like it was like a bachelorette things. Imagine that what a difference two years make what happened? You're asking the wrong girl.
And the fights just go too far. I wish that they didn't, you think, like I wish every it could just move forward.
But like, whatever that was, that is so bizarre to me that we actually I remember being in Nordstroms. I was like that for a long time. Everybody was like chat. It was always fighting, but it was never it was a like show ending. But okay, anyway, these are just some like topics. You guys, you want to eat as a kid with the best movie your TV show. You're just saying you see it as a kid. Wait, there was this thing called bagel dogs.
I don't know if they're still around, but we used to get them delivered to the house by like I don't know. They came in pacts of like thirty and you stuck them in your freezer.
And they were a hot dog on a stick covered in bagel bread. Corn dog. I used to I don't know what it is a corn dog? Is that this is because I grew up in Texas. I don't know what a corn dog. Corn dog is like picture like corn muffin or corn meal over the hot dogs. So I guess instead of cornmeal. It was a big old so I used to cut the top off.
This is when I was a kid, cut the top off, and I used to stuff ketch up a ketchup mustard and pickles inside and eat.
It like that and it was so freaking good. Right, Yeah? Do you feel like there are certain things I had as a kid, certain foods that I've been chasing ever since and can't get the same, Like Swedish fish, Like, why don't they? They used to be so Now I just they're just another candy and I keep waiting for them to bring me the match. Are you a candy corn hater or a lover? I love it too, love her? It's so good. Okay, hold on, all right, let's see. Uh,
what's your favorite song right now? On repeat? Well? Do you play music here? Yeah? Yeah, I mean during Thanksgiving? No, it's too loud, but definitely, like I like to have music going, Yeah, I like to have happy music going, especially now upbeat happy. What is my favorite song right now? I'm trying to think, like the ones that actually stick in my head. Yeah. So Sabrina Carpenter Espresso only because of what happened on Saturday.
Night Live.
Did you say, watch it? So they did this skit and it just got me like obsessed with the song. But and if you had you don't know, you don't because it was just like the funniest skit never. You have to watch it for a while.
You have to watch it.
Yeah, Do you have a secret talent that no one knows about? Hmm? I mean I think I did. I posted some like weird things that I could do, but the weird things in my mouth or like I can do, I can actually touch. There's certain like only a certain double jointed like a little bit maybe not maybe not like I used to be, but there's like apparently you can't not everybody can do this or I don't know something I thinks like that. But do you I have this one weird talent where there's a spot on your hand.
This freaks my kids out. There's a spot on your hand that if you slam it down, it doesn't didn't. Did I show you this? I don't know. Do you want me to show you?
No? Yeah, let me show you. Okay, okay, you guys can't see this, maybe you can see it. Let me position the camera so it's this held up this spot in the middle.
Of your hand. Do not try this out the middle of your hand right there, wait under the num takeoff.
Yeah this red watch freaked out. Okay, watch hold on, I care I don't feel anything. If you hit it right there, you don't feel anything.
I wish you guys could see if you are for me. It freaks everybody a bruise. No, no, no, I do this all the time. You don't feel anything. You do not feel a damn thing. Yeah, it's very strange. Whoa I am a weirdo. Hold on, I almost want to try it like here. Yeah, we are really digressive. Rate your hand out like that. Yeah, yeah, and then you bang it. You're not going to feel anything.
I can't. Yeah, I'll do that one day for everybody. How we're going to transition from that? It's such a fun thank What am I thankful? Because this is doing that? I want to say, I'm going to so do that on Thanksgiving?
Yeah, it is you, the entire family. I will Oh my gosh, what am I thankful for?
Well, I'm always above and beyond thankful for the fact that I have four healthy children.
Or because you know they say that.
You can have a million problems until you have a health problem, then you have one problem, you know. So I'm very grateful that i have four healthy children and
that I'm still celebrating with all four grandparents. That to me is above and beyond the number one thing, the fact that you know, with with so much you know, upheaval in the world, that I'm in like a peaceful, calm home with a loving husband, and you know, all the food we could eat, that we have, the luxury of getting full, the really simple things is what I'm grateful for.
I always my grandmother used to always tell me to count my blessings. That was like her expression, and I do, and I try to every day practice like gratitude, but like trying to think because I have those same I'm grateful for the same things that you just mentioned, and then try to think of like the little things, and I think about, like what an adventure this year has been, and good and bad. But you know, being on this show Housewives of New Jersey brought me to this podcast,
these adventures, the adventure that is the show. But also like you know, and I always reference my age, but you've been doing this a long time, long much longer than I have. But it's still to me, like sometimes it's a very strange thing to experience, you know, this world of I don't know TV and people and meeting people and having these like new people in my life that you know, I wouldn't have known and getting to do this stuff. It's like, I am grateful, and it
is a mixed bag. We both know that it is good and it is bad. And there's the fighting part is bad. The fighting part is bad. There's a lot of at least for me, there's anxiety around a lot of it. Yeah, there's stuff, but it's also I'm grateful that I had a chance this late in life to have fun, to do this, to have that and Jurie it doesn't and no matter what.
Happens with the show, keep reminding yourself, that's that's not the end.
Yeah, that's not the end. That's your launching pad for doing other things. You know, I'm grateful, but I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful for Jeff Fessler. I'm always grateful for him. But like, as we're getting older and like I just think of what we've done in the past year, and like I just I'm just grateful to be in a peaceful marriage. I think it's so hard. I mean, we celebrated twenty five years this April. This past April. People are dropping like flies around, like a lot of marriages.
I like every week I feel like a year of another because you do friend or especially like the House right and the Housewife Girl, House Girl. It's like contagious. But I don't know, I'm grateful to have that kind of a peaceful life like that with him, you know, if we're getting specific. Yeah, same, Really grateful for this podcast. I love doing. Yeah, I've been watching Nobody Wants This? Did you watch that? Maybe we're Sarah Foster and weis
shooting the Hot Rabbit. Yeah, yeah, I watched it and they have their podcast, and I was like, yeah, it's a sister. Yes, I love that. It is fun. Yeah, I hope it's fun for you guys to listen. Yeah, me too. And if it is Leaveles Server, yes, yes please. Anyway, I love this episode, really fun.
I hope that everybody has a really really nice Thanksgiving and you stop for a second and think about what you are grateful for.
Me too, And hopefully it's weird that we're doing this on election day because this world and this country is in quite a bit of upheaval, so days just like stop and breathe.
Yeah, I just I really hope that everything is peaceful too, no matter who wins, that there's no.
Craziness and come home. Oh yeah so that also, but yeah, yeah again for another episode. Okay you guys, happy, happy, happy, healthy Thanksgiving, Happy Thanksgiving. See you soon.