November 12, 2024 • 49 mins
Jenn and Jackie share funny Thanksgiving stories, traditions, and what they’re grateful for.
Who got their fried turkey from a fast food chain?
Plus, Jackie talks about how this holiday was always the most difficult when she suffered from her eating disorder.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Hello, It's Jackie Gildschneider and Jen Besler. We are two
Jersey Jays. Hi, guys, I cannot believe that it is November.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
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.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
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.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
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.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
I don't think I'll ever be able to leave. Like
I went to college in Boston and it was very,
very cold.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Yeah, and I was.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Like, you know, I hope my kids go somewhere that's
a little bit warmer, but I still want them.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
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.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
I didn't always love Thanksgiving either, but I love Thanksgivting.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
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
(01:20):
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.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
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?
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:42):
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,
(02:06):
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.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
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,
(02:46):
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,
(03:08):
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.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
It's a traditions, all right, So what are your other traditions?
What was it like for you growing up?
Speaker 1 (03:19):
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
(03:41):
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
(04:03):
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?
(04:24):
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.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah, yeah, we started hosting. You know, my Thanksgivings as
an adult have been.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Very like split up.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
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.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
So my parents were very split in the middle of course.
And what about growing up though? Were you growing up?
Speaker 2 (05:00):
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
(05:22):
did lose one of my cousins when I was in
my twenties. Yeah, he had a heart attack.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
My gosh, awful.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
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.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
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.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
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.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Going to have dinner with my parents and my cousins.
Their cousins are coming, Like.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
They really do love each other, but there's a there's
a pretty big age gap.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
So it's nice that you guys were able to. Yeah,
that's not an easy care anymore, what's you know?
Speaker 2 (06:18):
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
(06:39):
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.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
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
(07:18):
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,
(07:38):
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.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
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.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
So it's nice, you know. Good.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
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.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Brother were the kids, two boys.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
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
(08:49):
starting to like think about serious and his mom got
really drunk at the table at the Thanksgiving table and
she said, really loud.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
She said, I'm always going to be your best girl, right.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
And my mom looked at me and she was like,
did you just hear what to say?
Speaker 1 (09:10):
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.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
But I's a perfect Thanksgiving story. Yeah, And he was like, oh,
like he didn't know what to say.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
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.
(09:45):
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.
(10:05):
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.
(10:29):
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
(10:49):
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
(11:11):
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
(11:34):
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.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
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.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
So I never cooked. Now will you? Now, I'm just
really not interesting.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
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.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
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
(12:48):
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.
(13:09):
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
(13:31):
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.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
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
(14:11):
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
(14:33):
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?
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Wait? No, I didn't, Okay.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
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.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
So I go to Popeye's the day before.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
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.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Have a fried turkey.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
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.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
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.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
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
(16:13):
like a fresh kill place, maybe Goffle Farms. Oh really well,
probably everything's local.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
That wasn't the episode where they were sitting at the
picnic table and he took the phone call.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
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
(16:43):
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,
(17:05):
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,
(17:25):
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,
(17:46):
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.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
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
(18:30):
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
(18:50):
like give out assignments. Like everybody comes and there's so
much food it is vulgar. But I am the best.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Now I can make turkey and brisket like with the
best of them. Really, Oh my god, I'm so good.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
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
(19:26):
kids happy.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
So we leave that to them.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
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,
(19:52):
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
(20:15):
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.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
There was nothing you could do.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
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
(20:47):
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.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Twenty yes and came to the right place.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
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.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Especially see my dad and my mom too.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
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
(21:36):
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.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
I could literally couldn't even button my pants and I
felt sick to my stomach.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
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.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
But I do enjoy now being.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
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.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
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,
(22:36):
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.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
It like on ozebic? If you don't mind me asking
you out eat ozempic.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Yeah, I mean honestly, like the level of fullness that
you get isn't like, oh God, I'm gonna die, Like it's.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Not I don't know fullness like that. I never eat
to that level, which is like a mental thing.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
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
(23:38):
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
(24:01):
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
(24:24):
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.
(24:44):
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.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
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.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
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.
(25:28):
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.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
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
(26:02):
much weight it would make me crazy mentally.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
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
(26:27):
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
(26:50):
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.
(27:12):
It was so fun, you know, Formonica.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
I used to stick the kids in when they were
really little, you know, so they were all really close
in age.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
They were only two years apart.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
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.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
Walking with me.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
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,
(27:59):
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.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
That was toy stores.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
They're so great, you know, toy stores and you know
what else I miss video stores?
Speaker 1 (28:11):
Really. I remember the smell of.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
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.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Yeah, like and there was this movie spring Break.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
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.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
And I used to think it was like porn. I
loved it.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
I used to look at like the porky'st cover and
like I thought it was like porn.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
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.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
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.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
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.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
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.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Hey, now you're.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Having family over for Thanksgiving. I have all four of
my in laws, I have my four healthy kids.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
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?
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Like I am that jew who absolutely loves Christmas music.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
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.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
I love a friends giving. Yes, I love my friends
around the holidays.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
I love being cozy. Yeah, I love all of it.
I do too. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
So I guess even with technology and online and social media.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
There is there is still beautiful you know moments.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
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
(30:57):
people who have access to seeing what everybody else is
doing and don't have that family must be very difficult.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
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
(31:27):
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?
Speaker 2 (31:42):
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?
Speaker 1 (31:56):
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
(32:19):
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
(32:41):
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.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
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.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Last year, I remember on Black Friday, I took Alexus
to get her ears pierced.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
And because she really wanted a second hole, and.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
I was like, I'll get some piercings too, So I
have You're so funny.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
You have like this rocktership.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
Oh I want my entire back covert and tattoos. By
the way, yes, I'm actively thinking about my guys.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
So much.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
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.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
But so I was like, all right, I'll get I'll
get my ears pierced.
Speaker 2 (33:39):
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.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
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?
(34:20):
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
(34:43):
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.
Speaker 2 (34:59):
I didn't get my first one until I was thirty eight,
and then I've gotten one like almost.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
Every year since. All right, sorry, so all right, so
we digress. So Black Friday.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
I do love shopping on Black Friday, but I don't
love crowds.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
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.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
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.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
Smelled like pumpkin. Yes, oh god, I used to.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
When I would get homesick in college, I would go
over to the Maces and just like stroll around and
like feel cozy.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
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
(36:07):
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.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
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.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
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
(36:44):
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
(37:04):
on the couch.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
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.
Speaker 1 (37:13):
A glass of wine and.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
Watch football and talk. That's that's maybe one of my
favorite parts.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
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
(37:39):
and they are Now. Do you know that my son
is named after the Jets?
Speaker 2 (37:41):
No?
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
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,
(38:07):
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.
Speaker 1 (38:22):
And I said, well, what are you thinking? He said, Jet?
So Aiden's name is Aiden Jet.
Speaker 2 (38:27):
I said, though, I said, you can if you do this,
you can never say this is not my team anymore.
Speaker 1 (38:33):
You can never give up on the seam.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
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?
Speaker 1 (38:42):
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
(39:05):
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
(39:29):
made a list of like just fun like conversations.
Speaker 2 (39:32):
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.
Speaker 1 (39:40):
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?
Speaker 2 (39:55):
Good?
Speaker 1 (39:56):
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.
Speaker 2 (40:02):
I think I would get myself like like a ton
of hot bread and butter.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
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?
Speaker 2 (40:25):
One of my favorite moments, yes, ever, was when you
and I first started becoming friends.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
Do you know what I'm going to say?
Speaker 2 (40:33):
When you and I first started becoming friends. Okay, so
we were going to Ireland. Jenna and I really were getting.
Speaker 1 (40:40):
Like to be close friends.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
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.
Speaker 1 (40:49):
Yeah, and I actually say that you did this on purpose?
Are you talking about the No? No, not not the luvas? Okay?
Speaker 2 (40:55):
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.
Speaker 1 (41:11):
So I went into the same department.
Speaker 2 (41:14):
She was by a rack and I crouched down next
to the rack and I like reached through and I
grabbed her.
Speaker 1 (41:21):
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
(41:41):
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.
Speaker 2 (41:55):
And the fights just go too far. I wish that
they didn't, you think, like I wish every it could
just move forward.
Speaker 1 (42:01):
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
(42:21):
was this thing called bagel dogs.
Speaker 2 (42:22):
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.
Speaker 1 (42:29):
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.
Speaker 2 (42:51):
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.
Speaker 1 (42:58):
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?
(43:20):
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?
(43:42):
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.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
Night Live.
Speaker 1 (43:52):
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.
Speaker 2 (44:03):
You have to watch it.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
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
(44:24):
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?
Speaker 2 (44:42):
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.
Speaker 1 (44:52):
Of your hand. Do not try this out the middle
of your hand right there, wait under the num takeoff.
Speaker 2 (44:57):
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.
Speaker 1 (45:08):
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
(45:31):
bang it. You're not going to feel anything.
Speaker 2 (45:33):
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?
Speaker 1 (45:47):
Yeah, it is you, the entire family. I will Oh
my gosh, what am I thankful for?
Speaker 2 (45:54):
Well, I'm always above and beyond thankful for the fact
that I have four healthy children.
Speaker 1 (46:00):
Or because you know they say that.
Speaker 2 (46:04):
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,
(46:26):
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.
Speaker 1 (46:37):
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
(47:01):
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
(47:25):
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
(47:47):
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.
Speaker 2 (47:57):
Happens with the show, keep reminding yourself, that's that's not
the end.
Speaker 1 (48:01):
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.
(48:24):
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.
(48:48):
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,
(49:11):
I love this episode, really fun.
Speaker 2 (49:13):
I hope that everybody has a really really nice Thanksgiving
and you stop for a second and think about what
you are grateful for.
Speaker 1 (49:21):
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.
Speaker 2 (49:32):
Yeah, I just I really hope that everything is peaceful too,
no matter who wins, that there's no.
Speaker 1 (49:40):
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.
Hello.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Hello, It's Jackie Gildschneider and Jen Besler. We are two
Jersey Jays. Hi, guys, I cannot believe that it is November.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
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.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
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.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
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.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
I don't think I'll ever be able to leave. Like
I went to college in Boston and it was very,
very cold.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Yeah, and I was.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Like, you know, I hope my kids go somewhere that's
a little bit warmer, but I still want them.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
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.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
I didn't always love Thanksgiving either, but I love Thanksgivting.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
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
(01:20):
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.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
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?
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:42):
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,
(02:06):
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.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
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,
(02:46):
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,
(03:08):
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.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
It's a traditions, all right, So what are your other traditions?
What was it like for you growing up?
Speaker 1 (03:19):
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
(03:41):
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
(04:03):
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?
(04:24):
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.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah, yeah, we started hosting. You know, my Thanksgivings as
an adult have been.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Very like split up.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
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.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
So my parents were very split in the middle of course.
And what about growing up though? Were you growing up?
Speaker 2 (05:00):
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
(05:22):
did lose one of my cousins when I was in
my twenties. Yeah, he had a heart attack.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
My gosh, awful.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
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.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
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.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
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.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Going to have dinner with my parents and my cousins.
Their cousins are coming, Like.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
They really do love each other, but there's a there's
a pretty big age gap.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
So it's nice that you guys were able to. Yeah,
that's not an easy care anymore, what's you know?
Speaker 2 (06:18):
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
(06:39):
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.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
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
(07:18):
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,
(07:38):
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.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
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.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
So it's nice, you know. Good.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
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.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Brother were the kids, two boys.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
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
(08:49):
starting to like think about serious and his mom got
really drunk at the table at the Thanksgiving table and
she said, really loud.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
She said, I'm always going to be your best girl, right.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
And my mom looked at me and she was like,
did you just hear what to say?
Speaker 1 (09:10):
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.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
But I's a perfect Thanksgiving story. Yeah, And he was like, oh,
like he didn't know what to say.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
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.
(09:45):
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.
(10:05):
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.
(10:29):
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
(10:49):
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
(11:11):
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
(11:34):
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.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
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.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
So I never cooked. Now will you? Now, I'm just
really not interesting.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
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.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
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
(12:48):
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.
(13:09):
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
(13:31):
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.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
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
(14:11):
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
(14:33):
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?
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Wait? No, I didn't, Okay.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
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.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
So I go to Popeye's the day before.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
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.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Have a fried turkey.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
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.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
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.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
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
(16:13):
like a fresh kill place, maybe Goffle Farms. Oh really well,
probably everything's local.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
That wasn't the episode where they were sitting at the
picnic table and he took the phone call.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
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
(16:43):
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,
(17:05):
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,
(17:25):
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,
(17:46):
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.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
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
(18:30):
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
(18:50):
like give out assignments. Like everybody comes and there's so
much food it is vulgar. But I am the best.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Now I can make turkey and brisket like with the
best of them. Really, Oh my god, I'm so good.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
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
(19:26):
kids happy.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
So we leave that to them.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
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,
(19:52):
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
(20:15):
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.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
There was nothing you could do.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
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
(20:47):
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.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Twenty yes and came to the right place.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
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.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Especially see my dad and my mom too.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
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
(21:36):
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.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
I could literally couldn't even button my pants and I
felt sick to my stomach.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
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.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
But I do enjoy now being.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
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.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
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,
(22:36):
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.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
It like on ozebic? If you don't mind me asking
you out eat ozempic.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Yeah, I mean honestly, like the level of fullness that
you get isn't like, oh God, I'm gonna die, Like it's.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Not I don't know fullness like that. I never eat
to that level, which is like a mental thing.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
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
(23:38):
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
(24:01):
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
(24:24):
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.
(24:44):
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.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
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.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
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.
(25:28):
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.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
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
(26:02):
much weight it would make me crazy mentally.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
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
(26:27):
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
(26:50):
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.
(27:12):
It was so fun, you know, Formonica.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
I used to stick the kids in when they were
really little, you know, so they were all really close
in age.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
They were only two years apart.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
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.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
Walking with me.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
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,
(27:59):
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.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
That was toy stores.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
They're so great, you know, toy stores and you know
what else I miss video stores?
Speaker 1 (28:11):
Really. I remember the smell of.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
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.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Yeah, like and there was this movie spring Break.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
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.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
And I used to think it was like porn. I
loved it.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
I used to look at like the porky'st cover and
like I thought it was like porn.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
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.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
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.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
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.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
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.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Hey, now you're.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Having family over for Thanksgiving. I have all four of
my in laws, I have my four healthy kids.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
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?
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Like I am that jew who absolutely loves Christmas music.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
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.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
I love a friends giving. Yes, I love my friends
around the holidays.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
I love being cozy. Yeah, I love all of it.
I do too. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
So I guess even with technology and online and social media.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
There is there is still beautiful you know moments.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
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
(30:57):
people who have access to seeing what everybody else is
doing and don't have that family must be very difficult.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
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
(31:27):
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?
Speaker 2 (31:42):
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?
Speaker 1 (31:56):
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
(32:19):
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
(32:41):
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.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
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.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Last year, I remember on Black Friday, I took Alexus
to get her ears pierced.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
And because she really wanted a second hole, and.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
I was like, I'll get some piercings too, So I
have You're so funny.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
You have like this rocktership.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
Oh I want my entire back covert and tattoos. By
the way, yes, I'm actively thinking about my guys.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
So much.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
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.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
But so I was like, all right, I'll get I'll
get my ears pierced.
Speaker 2 (33:39):
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.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
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?
(34:20):
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
(34:43):
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.
Speaker 2 (34:59):
I didn't get my first one until I was thirty eight,
and then I've gotten one like almost.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
Every year since. All right, sorry, so all right, so
we digress. So Black Friday.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
I do love shopping on Black Friday, but I don't
love crowds.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
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.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
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.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
Smelled like pumpkin. Yes, oh god, I used to.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
When I would get homesick in college, I would go
over to the Maces and just like stroll around and
like feel cozy.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
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
(36:07):
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.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
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.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
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
(36:44):
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
(37:04):
on the couch.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
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.
Speaker 1 (37:13):
A glass of wine and.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
Watch football and talk. That's that's maybe one of my
favorite parts.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
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
(37:39):
and they are Now. Do you know that my son
is named after the Jets?
Speaker 2 (37:41):
No?
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
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,
(38:07):
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.
Speaker 1 (38:22):
And I said, well, what are you thinking? He said, Jet?
So Aiden's name is Aiden Jet.
Speaker 2 (38:27):
I said, though, I said, you can if you do this,
you can never say this is not my team anymore.
Speaker 1 (38:33):
You can never give up on the seam.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
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?
Speaker 1 (38:42):
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
(39:05):
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
(39:29):
made a list of like just fun like conversations.
Speaker 2 (39:32):
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.
Speaker 1 (39:40):
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?
Speaker 2 (39:55):
Good?
Speaker 1 (39:56):
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.
Speaker 2 (40:02):
I think I would get myself like like a ton
of hot bread and butter.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
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?
Speaker 2 (40:25):
One of my favorite moments, yes, ever, was when you
and I first started becoming friends.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
Do you know what I'm going to say?
Speaker 2 (40:33):
When you and I first started becoming friends. Okay, so
we were going to Ireland. Jenna and I really were getting.
Speaker 1 (40:40):
Like to be close friends.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
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.
Speaker 1 (40:49):
Yeah, and I actually say that you did this on purpose?
Are you talking about the No? No, not not the luvas? Okay?
Speaker 2 (40:55):
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.
Speaker 1 (41:11):
So I went into the same department.
Speaker 2 (41:14):
She was by a rack and I crouched down next
to the rack and I like reached through and I
grabbed her.
Speaker 1 (41:21):
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
(41:41):
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.
Speaker 2 (41:55):
And the fights just go too far. I wish that
they didn't, you think, like I wish every it could
just move forward.
Speaker 1 (42:01):
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
(42:21):
was this thing called bagel dogs.
Speaker 2 (42:22):
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.
Speaker 1 (42:29):
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.
Speaker 2 (42:51):
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.
Speaker 1 (42:58):
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?
(43:20):
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?
(43:42):
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.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
Night Live.
Speaker 1 (43:52):
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.
Speaker 2 (44:03):
You have to watch it.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
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
(44:24):
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?
Speaker 2 (44:42):
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.
Speaker 1 (44:52):
Of your hand. Do not try this out the middle
of your hand right there, wait under the num takeoff.
Speaker 2 (44:57):
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.
Speaker 1 (45:08):
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
(45:31):
bang it. You're not going to feel anything.
Speaker 2 (45:33):
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?
Speaker 1 (45:47):
Yeah, it is you, the entire family. I will Oh
my gosh, what am I thankful for?
Speaker 2 (45:54):
Well, I'm always above and beyond thankful for the fact
that I have four healthy children.
Speaker 1 (46:00):
Or because you know they say that.
Speaker 2 (46:04):
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,
(46:26):
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.
Speaker 1 (46:37):
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
(47:01):
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
(47:25):
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
(47:47):
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.
Speaker 2 (47:57):
Happens with the show, keep reminding yourself, that's that's not
the end.
Speaker 1 (48:01):
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.
(48:24):
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.
(48:48):
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,
(49:11):
I love this episode, really fun.
Speaker 2 (49:13):
I hope that everybody has a really really nice Thanksgiving
and you stop for a second and think about what
you are grateful for.
Speaker 1 (49:21):
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.
Speaker 2 (49:32):
Yeah, I just I really hope that everything is peaceful too,
no matter who wins, that there's no.
Speaker 1 (49:40):
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.
Hosts And Creators
Jackie Goldschneider
Jennifer Fessler
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