Our Thanksgiving Traditions: How Food and Family Unite Us Across Political Lines
Thanksgiving is supposed to be about gratitude, family, and obscene amounts of food. However, with tensions so high in America right now, we can appreciate that the holidays may be more highly charged than usual. Today, we're talking about how to actually enjoy Thanksgiving without either avoiding all meaningful conversation or ending up in a screaming match over mashed potatoes.
I (Nicole) grew up with Thanksgivings surrounded by friends who became family, home-cooked meals, and the kind of laughter that makes your face hurt. It was warm, chaotic, and filled with people who genuinely enjoyed being together. As an adult, my Thanksgivings have tended to be surrounded more by my “chosen family”, which consists of family and friends. It’s a wonderful time of year to make sure that everyone feels included and has somewhere that they feel welcome.
Jolene's childhood Thanksgivings were mostly at her dad's side of the family, filled with cousins and the kind of fun that only happens when you cram too many people into one house. As an adult, her Thanksgiving got tangled up with college football schedules, creating gatherings with sports teams that added their own lively energy to the holiday. As her children grow up and get married, Thanksgiving will change again to incorporate other traditions from a whole new set of wonderful people.
What's interesting is how our traditions diverged, but the essence stayed the same - togetherness, gratitude, and way too much food. Our families looked different, our menus had regional variations, but the heart of Thanksgiving remained constant: gathering with people you care about and being grateful for what you have.
It can be a little tricky around the holidays, though. Thanksgiving has become synonymous with anxiety about conversations going sideways. Everyone's bracing for the moment someone brings up politics, immigration, or whatever controversy is dominating the news cycle, and suddenly you're not having dinner anymore, you're having a debate where nobody wins and everyone leaves angry.
What Jolene and I have learned over years of friendship across political lines is: curiosity beats judgment every single time. When someone says something you disagree with, your instinct is probably to correct them, argue with them, or mentally write them off as ignorant. But what if you asked a question instead?
Not a gotcha question designed to trap them or prove they're wrong. A genuine question that starts with "how" instead of "why."
How did you come to that conclusion?
How does that policy affect you personally?
How do you think that would work in practice?
These questions invite conversation instead of confrontation, understanding instead of argument.
The key is remembering that everyone is the protagonist in their own story. You're the main character in your life, and everyone else is a supporting character. But guess what? They feel exactly the same way. They're the hero of their story, operating from their own experiences, values, and understanding of the world. When you approach conversations from that perspective, it's easier to listen without immediately judging.
This doesn't mean you have to agree with everything your relatives say. It doesn't mean you can't have boundaries about what topics are off-limits. It just means approaching disagreement with curiosity about how someone arrived at their position, rather than immediately dismissing them as stupid or brainwashed.
One thing that we can all agree on is that Thanksgiving is all about the food. It doesn’t matter what side of the aisle you sit on, food is the real MVP here. Jolene and I both have our traditional staples like turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy. But then our regional differences show up. Jolene's family does smoked turkey, which sounds amazing. My family embraced southern dishes like okra and cornbread dressing, which apparently, is controversial in some circles.
The beauty of Thanksgiving is that it forces us to gather with people we might not choose to spend time with otherwise. Extended family, in-laws, that one cousin who always says inappropriate things - they're all there, and you're all stuck together for several hours. You can either make it miserable or make it meaningful.
Jolene and I are proof that people with completely different political views can not only coexist but genuinely enjoy each other's company. The secret isn't agreeing on everything - it's respecting each other enough to listen, ask questions, and assume good faith.
This Thanksgiving, our challenge to you is simple: approach your gathering with an open heart and genuine curiosity. When someone says something you disagree with, ask them a question instead of starting an argument. When you feel yourself getting defensive, take a breath and remember that everyone at that table has their own story, their own struggles, their own reasons for believing what they believe.
Set boundaries if you need to. It's perfectly okay to say "I'd rather not discuss politics today" or "Let's focus on what we're grateful for instead of what we're angry about." You don't have to engage with every provocative statement or rise to every bait.
But also don't avoid all meaningful conversation just because it might be uncomfortable. Some of the best Thanksgiving memories come from real conversations where people share their actual thoughts and feelings, where vulnerability and honesty create connection instead of conflict.
Thanksgiving is about gratitude, and we're genuinely grateful for each other, for our chosen families, and for the space we've created to explore our differences while celebrating our shared values. We're grateful for the people who show up, who try, who choose connection over being right.
So as you gather around your table this Thanksgiving, remember it's not just about the meal - though the meal is important and mac and cheese absolutely belongs on the table. It's about the people, the stories, the moments of connection that happen when we choose curiosity over judgment and understanding over argument.
Happy Thanksgiving from two friends who prove that liberals and conservatives can break bread together without breaking each other.
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Good for the Soul:
People Choosing Kindness (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/peoplechoosingkindness/
https://youtu.be/_ys-UNz5U24?si=sNsUCJ3LVAreVQWN
Links:
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[00:00:00] nicole: She's a conservative and I'm liberal, and yet we've been friends for almost 40 years.
[00:00:04] nicole: Everyone says you shouldn't discuss politics, religion, or money. And we say, that's exactly what friends should be talking about. Join us as we tackle the conversations you're having in your head, but are too scared to say out loud. Hello, Jolene.
[00:00:19] Jolene: Hello my friend Nicole.
[00:00:21] nicole: How are you?
[00:00:24] Jolene: I am good. We are coming off of Sugar High coming
[00:00:27] nicole: Mm-hmm.
[00:00:27] Jolene: Halloween weekend, and so we're all trying to recoup before we get started on our Thanksgiving episode, please take a moment if you would please to and subscribe to our podcast. this is a way for us to, uh, grow our community and to get our message out to more people like you. and if you are interested in being a sponsor, we would love for you to reach out to us. So please contact us on our website. we've got to talk.com contact us and we will get ahold of you.
[00:00:59] nicole: Yay.
[00:00:59] Jolene: [00:01:00] for you to be
[00:01:00] nicole: Yay.
[00:01:00] Jolene: this community.
[00:01:01] nicole: Yes, we would. Absolutely. And so we are taking a little turn. Uh, this is a directive from our incredible producer, Brianna, who is based in Brisbane, Australia, and she has assignments for us. Um, and this one, she wanted us to talk about Thanksgiving, and she wanted us to talk about our family traditions.
[00:01:26] nicole: She also wanted us to possibly look at it through a lens of liberal versus conservative, which I think is really interesting. And maybe something an only an Australian or an an outside of America would think about, because I've been thinking about this Jolene and asking some friends and, and, and I, I think possibly I could be wrong, but I think that if there are differences in, in Thanksgivings, it's more about a cultural difference than a political. party that each family tends to have their own [00:02:00] their own little way they do or interpret Thanksgiving. What do you think about that? Do you think that there's like a liberal way to do it versus a conservative way or even more fun? what do conservatives envision that a liberal Thanksgiving looks like?
[00:02:16] Jolene: Oh gosh. I've never thought about
[00:02:18] nicole: I, I,
[00:02:19] Jolene: don't, I
[00:02:19] nicole: haven't either.
[00:02:20] Jolene: political,
[00:02:21] nicole: I don't know. I don't either.
[00:02:22] Jolene: I think it's probably, I hope that it is one of those holidays that we are all Americans, that we are celebrating Thanksgiving in and you put away any of your political beliefs or your, your biases and you celebrate just being thankful because I think it's. It's, it's probably for me more of a religious thing, even though Thanksgiving is not considered a religious holiday. It's, it's a holiday where the family gets together and you talk about what you're thankful for. So as a Christian, then you think, blessings come from God.
[00:02:57] Jolene: And so I think we kind of [00:03:00] turn it into, you know, what are we most thankful for and what are we thanking God for? but I mean, but
[00:03:08] nicole: Was that, would you say that's specific to the Conway family?
[00:03:11] Jolene: uh, and I would say a lot of our friends, I mean, I
[00:03:14] nicole: Okay.
[00:03:14] Jolene: friends and our family would feel like that.
[00:03:17] nicole: I mean, it's interesting though, Jolene, in terms of the political thing, because we hear now for the last however many years, 10 years, let's say, like people get really stressed out about going to Thanksgiving for fear of those political conversations that will come up in families. 'cause most families don't think necessarily one way versus the other.
[00:03:38] nicole: And there's always gonna be somebody that might want to cause trouble or the booze is flowing or whatever and things are said. And so people, sometimes it, it has become political in a strange way that I can't speak for you, but it never was, as a kid, there was nothing to do with politics When you were,
[00:03:58] Jolene: well.
[00:03:59] nicole: there was [00:04:00] dysfunction.
[00:04:00] nicole: There could have been like, you know, the, the family member that you're like, oh, okay. But it wasn't about.
[00:04:07] Jolene: I remember my, my aunts and uncles getting into political discussions
[00:04:11] nicole: do you? Okay.
[00:04:12] Jolene: now, not heated at all like it is now
[00:04:14] nicole: Okay.
[00:04:15] Jolene: all. But I do remember, you know, the, the older generation would sit around the table and they would, you know, they would talk about, you know, my, my uncle who worked in a tire factory, you know, and, and he would have the union, you know, perspective
[00:04:31] nicole: Yes, yes,
[00:04:33] Jolene: my other uncle who started his own construction company.
[00:04:35] Jolene: You know what I mean? I mean
[00:04:36] nicole: yes. That makes sense.
[00:04:37] Jolene: I think that's
[00:04:38] nicole: I.
[00:04:38] Jolene: been a part of, of getting together with family and, and different, topics. But isn't it kind of funny that I think we, when we imagine getting together, and with your family. Around the holidays and, you know, how are you going to deal with your, your relative who has politically [00:05:00] different views than you?
[00:05:01] Jolene: You imagine the worst. you can play out the scenarios in your head. Well, I.
[00:05:05] Jolene: know, I know that uncle so-and-so's gonna say this. Uh, well, I just know that, I mean, you, this is what we all talk about, about
[00:05:11] nicole: Yes.
[00:05:12] Jolene: together with your family members and it's going to be, know, somebody's gonna get mad and, and stomp off and go, that's it.
[00:05:19] Jolene: We're going home. And
[00:05:21] nicole: but it's interesting, Jillian, when you say that, 'cause I'm just thinking and may, maybe this is liberal, I don't know why, but like energetically, if you go in with all of that anxiety, oh, uncle Jim's gonna say this, I can't deal. You, it's, you've already put your guard up.
[00:05:42] nicole: You've already told yourself that story. So you are also going into that very closed off, very protected, and, and I understand why there's a, you know, there's, we're in a very heated time and everyone is, as we know, is [00:06:00] seeing different things and hearing different things, and, I mean, here's the thing. maybe it's very different for you. I know you're super close with your family, but I imagine that you're still a family and you still have stuff.
[00:06:13] Jolene: Oh,
[00:06:13] nicole: so, so those, those situations, whether it's Thanksgiving, any sort of fam, family holiday, the family gathering, you're going in with tensions, right?
[00:06:25] nicole: Whatever it is. It could be tiny, it can be huge. Something that someone was pissed off that someone said five years ago, and they're bringing that to the dinner, whatever. And now you, and now you're in this world where between the algorithms and the media you watch and everyone is on edge. And you go in and it's like, it's like a, like you've said this before, it's like a powder cake. ready to explode. Unless, the only way, it doesn't 'cause the only person I am learning, the only person I can control is myself.
[00:06:58] Jolene: yep.
[00:06:59] nicole: [00:07:00] Right. Only person that Jolene can control is herself. So the more, if there are more of us out there that like, okay, I'm going to, I'm gonna
[00:07:08] Jolene: I.
[00:07:09] nicole: go into this dinner and I'm going to be more curious, or take a deep breath or walk away for a moment, gather myself and come back, like learning different behaviors that might change the dialogue.
[00:07:29] Jolene: Yes. But I, so you're right. I don't think it has to be just about politics. I mean, it could be whether the cowboys are playing, uh,
[00:07:37] nicole: right.
[00:07:38] Jolene: play in Detroit and maybe somebody is gonna be cheering for the lions and somebody is cheering for Dallas. And I mean, it could be, who brought the green bean casserole this year?
[00:07:49] Jolene: 'cause it sucks.
[00:07:50] nicole: I wanna know, like what were your family traditions like when you were a kid at Thanksgiving and what have you [00:08:00] taken away from it? And are you always hosting it now or does it change?
[00:08:05] Jolene: Okay. So as a kid, we always went to someone's house,
[00:08:09] nicole: Okay.
[00:08:10] Jolene: aunt and aunts and uncles. Usually on my dad's side, uh, no. I guess maybe sometimes we would get together with my mom's side, on my dad's side, we had so many cousins that it was always so fun. Like we knew we were all gonna get together and if the Kansas City cousins were gonna be there, they were the fun ones and we didn't always get to see them.
[00:08:32] Jolene: So are they gonna be there? Like, it was just, it was, it was always gonna be, it was always, you know, growing up was always about the kids getting together and playing. Which is so sad because now as adults we're like, God, we don't get together anymore at, with all of our cousins, and dang, we should have, you know, we, we should do that.
[00:08:50] Jolene: Because that was such a core memory. uh, I mean the f it's obviously, it's always about the food. Do you know me how important food is to me?
[00:08:57] nicole: Yes, yes.
[00:08:59] Jolene: is such a fantastic [00:09:00] cook, and my aunts and uncles were all always fa I mean, like food is was always the, The
[00:09:05] nicole: The main event,
[00:09:06] Jolene: of Yeah. Of that event. then we started getting together. So then after Jeff and I got married, we started getting together with his brother but it was always, I mean, being married to a football coach, it was always. Dictated around your football schedule. And so when he was a, and when Jeff was coaching at a lower level, um, usually we were done with football by, um, Thanksgiving. And so we would have that, you know, a four or five day weekend that we could go to Texas and go see Dan and Laura they would come up and we'd get together with Jeff's side of the family. but then once he got to higher levels and we were with the Fritz's, then it was all about Thanksgiving and football. And sometimes we'd have a bunch of players at our house because they didn't, they couldn't go home and so
[00:09:54] nicole: Right.
[00:09:55] Jolene: players over, um, or you would have get together as a family. So the [00:10:00] last probably, I don't know, 10 years, we've always done Thanksgiving with, um, with the Fritz's or family Willie's our, was our head coach.
[00:10:10] Jolene: And so we'd always do it was a Fritz Conway and usually other coaches
[00:10:15] nicole: And, would you all pot luck together were,
[00:10:18] Jolene: Yes. Yeah, yeah.
[00:10:20] nicole: Someone, someone would do the Turkey and,
[00:10:22] Jolene: yeah,
[00:10:23] nicole: yeah.
[00:10:24] Jolene: yeah, How about you?
[00:10:25] nicole: Well, as, as a kid, I had a very similar experience. So again, nothing to do with liberal or or conservative. Where I remember for, as a kid, it was all about hanging out with the kids. it wasn't families, it was like friends that were like family.
[00:10:41] nicole: They, my, my mom and dad had this group of really fun friends who, and they all had kids, and so we would go to the East Bay. They had, I guess they had a bigger house or something, and we would all play together. People would play football, you'd play games, you'd watch Thanksgiving [00:11:00] movies, and I, I'm assuming the parade, I can't really remember that part.
[00:11:03] nicole: I do remember having. Like fond memories of like being around the grownups and what were they talking about? And they were, you know, the wine was flowing, they're having a great time. It just was like such a cozy, warm, I've always loved Thanksgiving. I don't
[00:11:21] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:11:21] nicole: have a lot of tradition around it actually. for this episode I was thinking about, there's one Thanksgiving that I remember so distinctly where when things started to take a turn so my parents, uh, got divorced when I was 10 and. family friends, things that I don't know had changed years before. People just moved apart, but there, my mom and dad still were close and they were very friendly and we would do holidays together. And it was soon after my mom, mom and dad got a divorce and she said, I will do Thanksgiving.
[00:11:56] nicole: And it was all of my dad's family. And my mom's an in [00:12:00] incred or was an incredible cook, and she just goes all out. And, we had this beautiful dinner. I think it was eaten in 15 minutes. And everybody got up and my mom completely lost her shit. Like, and my mom was not this way at all. she'd keep things inside.
[00:12:22] nicole: She was, but she lost it. And I don't know if it was like, you know, she had, she had gotten a divorce and took back her name and was like finding herself and maybe seeing things with new eyes and was like, what is going on? How is no one helping me? And it's done. And everyone was just, and
[00:12:42] Jolene: did she do? Was she yelling? Was
[00:12:44] nicole: she was yelling.
[00:12:45] nicole: She was yelling and crying. That's what I remember. And, and thinking, and I was thinking as an adult now, I was like, my gosh, I probably didn't help her. You know, I'm like 10 or 11 and I'm like, oh god, that's awful. That's such a [00:13:00] horrible feeling when no one's helping you. Right? Um, but I do remember that that was definitely a turning point. but I've always loved Thanksgiving and I've, and you know, being at Iowa, like it was too close to the Christmas holiday and too expensive. So I would never go home. So I was always adopted by somebody and I always really liked that because you get to go into a family's stuff and see what do they like to eat and what do they like?
[00:13:29] nicole: And in some ways I could be a buffer because people would more be on their better behavior 'cause there's kind of a stranger
[00:13:36] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:13:37] Jolene: Oh that
[00:13:37] nicole: Um, right. So I was thinking, I talked to a couple friends and one of my friends is Basque and her parents were immigrants and she grew up in Idaho and she was like, her parents wanted to.
[00:13:55] nicole: They, they were, you know, embracing being American. [00:14:00] Um, but she was like, bask people take every chance at all the time to bring family together and eat. That's what we do. So it was just like, oh, Thanksgiving. they would celebrate Thanksgiving, but with their own food,
[00:14:12] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:14:13] nicole: like paella and all.
[00:14:15] nicole: I was like, oh my God. I'd l
[00:14:16] Jolene: I don't even know what that
[00:14:17] nicole: oh ba the Basque country. northern Spain and France. it's a,
[00:14:22] Jolene: really?
[00:14:23] nicole: yes, it's a region. It's very old. It, and it's a very old language. and so. That's my, my friend, is they have delicious food. That's all you really need to know. They have delicious food, and that's what they have for Thanksgiving.
[00:14:38] nicole: And then this other friend of mine, she grew up Mormon, and she distinctly remembers that the women cooked and cleaned, and the men played football and played risk. They, I was like,
[00:14:53] Jolene: Like the board game.
[00:14:54] nicole: risk. Yeah. That, that was the thing. And I'm like, really? Okay. I think there was [00:15:00] definitely more traditional roles of cooking and cleaning.
[00:15:05] nicole: I think that's kind of shifted a lot now. Would you agree?
[00:15:09] Jolene: agree. Yeah.
[00:15:09] nicole: Yeah.
[00:15:10] Jolene: Growing up, the girls always did the cooking and the
[00:15:12] nicole: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
[00:15:14] Jolene: lay down and watch football and take a nap. A
[00:15:16] nicole: Yep.
[00:15:17] Jolene: Yep.
[00:15:17] nicole: Yeah. But it seems to be very different now
[00:15:20] Jolene: I hope
[00:15:21] nicole: I hope.
[00:15:22] Jolene: other families.
[00:15:23] nicole: Yeah. Well 'cause what was it like having the football players?
[00:15:26] Jolene: Uh, it was great. Although we would have football players over, Jeff always wanted to have them over for, mean, the season, have them over just for, to grill burgers or ribs or spaghetti or, you know, whatever. so you know, when you, when you talk about then a huge Thanksgiving meal where you're prepared to feed people who are eating a lot already, and
[00:15:51] nicole: How do you do that
[00:15:52] Jolene: on top of that, you, you go, oh, well, okay, we're gonna get a couple extra turkeys and extra potatoes and I mean, you [00:16:00] just take everything times five, I guess.
[00:16:02] Jolene: I don't,
[00:16:02] nicole: and were you doing that by yourself or you, did you have help?
[00:16:06] Jolene: yeah, we would do it.
[00:16:08] nicole: Yeah, I.
[00:16:08] Jolene: a staff where we would, although Willie would also get to the. coach Fritz would always get to the point where he would have Thanksgiving dinner brought in for the, for the kids. So if they weren't going somewhere, you know, that they would have, you know, together as a staff and as a team, they would have, um, have Thanksgiving brought in so that they could all share that with them. tell you my greatest, this is something I will totally credit my sister-in-law, Laura on that. She was, she was raised in Louisiana and so her tradition was, um, on Wednesday night as everybody gathered to whose ever house that you're, that you're at, you would always, she would make a big pot of gumbo and we'd have, um, and muffett. And so
[00:16:55] nicole: explain what a muff is.
[00:16:58] Jolene: you would have, uh, on [00:17:00] Italian or, or French bread, and it is like, salami, and Mortadella, I think usually, and provolone cheese, and then an olive spread that is absolutely fantastic. And, um, and it's warm, so you'd, you'd wrap it up and you'd put it in the oven.
[00:17:19] Jolene: And so muffle lettuce and gumbo
[00:17:22] nicole: Yum.
[00:17:23] Jolene: so delicious and lots of wine. And so we've, so that's always been the tradition. Then on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, meal was almost as important As the Thanksgiving dinner, because that was, you knew whose ever house that you were going to, there was gonna be, you know, this delicious meal waiting for you when you got there. so I love that because then on, so then the, the real dilemma came on Friday and Saturday is do you have the leftover gumbo or do you have the leftover thanksgiving? And you could kind of have a little of both. You were hoping that there was enough leftover for both. What do you do [00:18:00] on Wednesday night? Because I think a lot of people do pizzas on Wednesday night because there're cooking and doing all this prepping and everything.
[00:18:06] nicole: Yeah, I don't have any recollection of what happens Wednesday. I do remember like enjoying having the Thanksgiving Day parade on in the background in the morning when you're cooking, and I do, this is a later love, but I love that Westminster Dog show.
[00:18:27] Jolene: Yes, absolutely.
[00:18:29] nicole: I love it. Yes. It's the best. Those dogs give me so much joy. I love it.
[00:18:37] Jolene: Mm-hmm.
[00:18:37] nicole: love it. I think it's funny, like when you, when you do decide to, create a Thanksgiving with, I mean, maybe your family's sort of set, but if you get into a situation where you're bringing friends together or something and that you find those friends that you've known forever, it's a non-negotiable that this thing has to be on the [00:19:00] table and you're like, you like that?
[00:19:03] nicole: Like, is there something that in your Thanksgiving is a to, to a complete non-negotiable? And is there something that you're like, no way is that on my table?
[00:19:15] Jolene: I'll tell you the, the one controversial thing that's been added these last several years that I never grew up thinking was a tra 'cause we're very traditional. It's Turkey mashed potatoes and gravy dressing. green bean casserole, doubled eggs, cranberries. Um, that, I mean, that's really sweet.
[00:19:35] Jolene: Potatoes.
[00:19:36] nicole: Is the dressing inside the Turkey and outside the Turkey?
[00:19:39] Jolene: no. No, no,
[00:19:40] nicole: Nothing inside. Okay.
[00:19:41] Jolene: no.
[00:19:42] nicole: Not the wet.
[00:19:43] Jolene: well be, because then we started smoking a Turkey.
[00:19:47] nicole: Ah,
[00:19:48] Jolene: a Turkey last year. It was the best we've ever had. Um,
[00:19:51] nicole: that sounds delicious.
[00:19:53] Jolene: deep fat fried it, you know, the
[00:19:54] nicole: Oh dude.
[00:19:56] Jolene: Right. Fantastic.
[00:19:57] nicole: The heart attack.
[00:19:59] Jolene: But here [00:20:00] is the thing, the last couple years that I would love viewer, I would love to get your opinion on this. and cheese. that a Thanksgiving side?
[00:20:11] nicole: That to me is a southern side. 'cause you go into the south they will like a lot of barbecue places. Um, in, uh, North Carolina, we did a barbecue tour. We were actually going to see a friend's play. And so then we went through North Carolina and we're eating lots of barbecue
[00:20:29] Jolene: mm-hmm.
[00:20:30] nicole: they would put veg under the vegetables.
[00:20:34] nicole: It said macaroni and cheese. I'm not kidding. Every single menu, vegetables, macaroni, and cheese. And we were like, and we were, you know, two New York City girls going,
[00:20:43] Jolene: Hmm.
[00:20:44] nicole: Okay. you're starting to get some, uh, son-in-laws in your life.
[00:20:50] Jolene: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
[00:20:52] nicole: change? Thanksgiving?
[00:20:54] Jolene: Well, I'll tell you what, for Trey's family, their side of the family always got together [00:21:00] in Fort Worth and their grandparents lived on a ranch, and But they would, all their tradition was to have chicken fried steak Thanksgiving, and they would make it out by the chuck wagon.
[00:21:11] Jolene: I mean, it was a whole, like, very ranchy kind of thing to do.
[00:21:15] nicole: Is chicken fried steak? A steak with a deep fried crust?
[00:21:21] Jolene: Amen, sister. Yes,
[00:21:22] nicole: Is it really like a like, like think Kentucky Fried chicken,
[00:21:26] Jolene: mm-hmm.
[00:21:27] nicole: instead of a chicken, it's a steak inside.
[00:21:30] Jolene: Correct. I think it's a minute stake. I mean, I think it's like a,
[00:21:34] nicole: Is it thin?
[00:21:35] Jolene: think, yeah, so
[00:21:36] nicole: Yeah, like
[00:21:37] Jolene: I mean, think, um, of a, a cheaper cut of meat And
[00:21:42] nicole: like a flat.
[00:21:43] Jolene: Yes.
[00:21:44] nicole: Okay.
[00:21:45] Jolene: and then breaded. my mouth was watering, just talking
[00:21:49] nicole: Really?
[00:21:50] Jolene: and then deep fat fried.
[00:21:51] Jolene: It is. Oh my gosh. I ate it. I, I mean, I would eat that for lunch when I was pregnant with Callie, our oldest, like, I would stop at Luby's [00:22:00] and eat chicken fried steak
[00:22:01] nicole: That's a luby.
[00:22:02] Jolene: okra.
[00:22:04] nicole: I love fried okra. I love okra.
[00:22:06] Jolene: did
[00:22:07] nicole: Listen.
[00:22:07] Jolene: lubies?
[00:22:08] nicole: Yeah. What's a luby's?
[00:22:11] Jolene: only the greatest cafeteria ever known to mankind.
[00:22:15] nicole: Is it in the South?
[00:22:16] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:22:17] nicole: Okay.
[00:22:17] nicole: It's in Dallas, San Antonio, El Paso. Yeah. It's all over Texas.
[00:22:23] Jolene: Okay, good. I'm
[00:22:24] nicole: Mm-hmm.
[00:22:24] Jolene: it still is there.
[00:22:25] nicole: We'll, we'll put the, uh. The website in the show notes, so somebody can go have some luby
[00:22:31] Jolene: you.
[00:22:32] nicole: chicken fried steak as your pre-Thanksgiving meal.
[00:22:35] Jolene: Oh, there you go. Or if you are traveling, you can stop at Luby's and
[00:22:40] nicole: There you go. There you go.
[00:22:42] Jolene: and gravy. Oh yeah.
[00:22:45] nicole: And so what is, yeah,
[00:22:47] Jolene: tradition. this year, um, we are going to Texas because then our future son-in-law, he's a coach for TCU and they play on Saturday after
[00:22:57] nicole: Oh,
[00:22:58] Jolene: So
[00:22:58] nicole: and
[00:22:58] Jolene: going to go to Fort [00:23:00] Worth on Thursday of Thanksgiving. All of us will onto Fort Worth, um, where
[00:23:06] nicole: you're gonna drive, aren't you?
[00:23:08] Jolene: No, we're gonna fly.
[00:23:09] nicole: Oh, thank God.
[00:23:10] Jolene: I know.
[00:23:11] nicole: That just seemed too long.
[00:23:13] Jolene: But I'm worried about flying this Thanksgiving.
[00:23:16] nicole: I know. I know. I.
[00:23:18] Jolene: so we will all go to Fort Worth. Bobby's coming in.
[00:23:22] Jolene: Patsy and Trey will already be there because they're doing the ranch Thanksgiving. Then we're going to go to a restaurant Friday night with Jacob's family
[00:23:30] nicole: Okay.
[00:23:31] Jolene: Thanksgiving at a restaurant.
[00:23:34] nicole: Have you ever done that before?
[00:23:35] Jolene: no, I've never had
[00:23:36] nicole: I have.
[00:23:37] Jolene: You have,
[00:23:38] nicole: I have. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:23:41] Jolene: and, and
[00:23:43] nicole: it's different.
[00:23:44] Jolene: food.
[00:23:44] nicole: Yes. I mean, if the food is, listen, if the restaurant's good, the food's gonna be good. during COVID, there is a really incredible restaurant in New York City called the Union Square Cafe. you know, people were [00:24:00] struggling, restaurants were struggling during COVID in New York City. People were not going. It was a very different vibe than probably the rest of the city, but Union Square Cafe was, like emailing everyone and saying, we will deliver Thanksgiving dinner to you.
[00:24:18] nicole: And we were like, why not? And so you could order Turkey and sweet potato mash and cranberry sauce and stuffing and like you name it. Honestly, it was the best Thanksgiving I've ever had.
[00:24:38] Jolene: really?
[00:24:39] nicole: And it was at the time, Jax was not really into food. I wish he, I wish he was the kid he is now. 'cause he would've eaten everything.
[00:24:47] nicole: So we had all this beautiful food for basically me and Josh, and we ate it for days, but it was like, and it was all like labeled and perfect. And there was like reheated at this temperature for this. And it was, it [00:25:00] was really special. But I did, I, now, now that we're talking about this, I do remember, going to like fancy Thanksgiving with my dad and Jackie.
[00:25:10] nicole: Jackie was not really a cook, so it sort of took the pressure off in that way. It's strange, but it's, it can be really elegant and nice and you don't have to do any cleanup and it can be delicious and you know, I mean, it's obviously totally different than what you're used to.
[00:25:28] Jolene: So what will you do for Thanksgiving this year? Wait, can we talk about this? Do you wanna
[00:25:34] nicole: Of course, of course.
[00:25:36] Jolene: So what, what is this year gonna look like?
[00:25:38] nicole: So this year's gonna be totally different. Uh, Josh and I are flying out to, uh, Asia, and so we are going through Seoul, Korea, which we've been to before and absolutely loved. And then we're gonna spend most of our trip in Cambodia and we are [00:26:00] going to pan pen cm, reap this little island called K Crabby Island.
[00:26:04] nicole: Then we're gonna fly through Singapore and we will be in Tokyo on Thanksgiving.
[00:26:12] Jolene: Hmm.
[00:26:12] nicole: And then we fly back to the states the day after Thanksgiving, which will just be a day in Tokyo. And basically we're just going to eat our way through all of Asia and it's gonna be incredible. We've never been to Cambodia and we're so excited
[00:26:31] Jolene: when you get back, then, will you eat
[00:26:35] nicole: No.
[00:26:35] Jolene: a Thanksgiving dinner? Like do you, is, is Thanksgiving one of those meals that you're like, oh, I can't, I, we're gonna do it on Sunday after we get back or something? No.
[00:26:44] nicole: No, which is not, it's funny, you know, I was talking to Josh about this a a little bit. Like we crave family and I think it's one of the things that [00:27:00] attracted us to each other is that we both came from families that now his parents are married, so it's not that, but that just didn't have traditions and that sort of cozy, safe feeling.
[00:27:22] nicole: And so we like to host any kind of party and we love to make people feel welcome.
[00:27:30] nicole: We're very aware of the feeling of do you have some place to go? And we wanna be a place where Yes, please come. we will take care of you. We will feed you, we will love you. Like, and, and thinking about this Thanksgiving episode, I was talking to him about it, and it sort of really hit us, hit, hit home in a way of like, what is family and what does this all mean?
[00:27:55] nicole: And, I can't speak for Josh, but for me, I mean, we love [00:28:00] food and we love delicious food, but that is the last of it. It is that feeling, that yummy feeling of being with people you love and, and feeling, cozy and safe and like you've got each other. so the food.
[00:28:16] nicole: Honestly, Jolene, a lot of Thanksgiving dinners aren't very good. Like Turkey is really hard to make. Well, I totally botched it last year because our sink fell into itself. Seriously, do you remember
[00:28:28] Jolene: Yes.
[00:28:29] nicole: fell into itself? It was such a nightmare. I was hosting Thanksgiving and it was four days before Thanksgiving.
[00:28:36] nicole: And the sink, literally, we, we were hosting a dinner and this, we never leave the dishes in the sink, but it was a brand new house, so, okay, so we left the dishes in the sink to clean, you know, after our guests left instead of like doing it while they were there, and we're there walking out the door and we hear this boom, and I, Josh and I look, we're like, oh my [00:29:00] God.
[00:29:00] nicole: And the sink had fallen into the hole, broke the disposal, and I'm like. I have to host Thanksgiving. What? And so the long and the short of it, my sweet friend Rachel was like, I'll, I'll host it. No big deal. And I'm like bringing my dad to her. So I'm like, okay, you're now hosting it. And, and I'm bringing dad and, but, but I still did the Turkey.
[00:29:24] nicole: But it's a nightmare to try to do the Turkey and then move it. And so I moved it and it was, it still kept cooking those 20 minutes, getting to her house. And
[00:29:33] Jolene: Oh, was it dry?
[00:29:35] nicole: yeah, I've done, I've done good. I have, I've had some very good successes. There's a Tom Cchi recipe that I think you would absolutely love, Jolene. it's basically lots of butter, salt, and pepper. And then you stuff that bird with all kinds of delicious herbs.
[00:29:53] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:29:54] nicole: it's so simple and so buttery, delicious.
[00:29:58] nicole: And it usually works [00:30:00] except if you're trying to bring it somewhere. and I think it's from my, my Southern family, like, like weird stuff that I, um, and no offense, listener, viewer. If you love it, God bless you. But like that jello stuff with the marshmallows in it or the,
[00:30:15] Jolene: Nah,
[00:30:16] nicole: don't, I don't like that kind of stuff.
[00:30:17] nicole: That's not, that's not my thing.
[00:30:19] Jolene: No, I
[00:30:20] nicole: I do like the canned cranberry sauce.
[00:30:22] Jolene: Oh, oh. Are you kidding
[00:30:25] nicole: I know I love fresh, but I'm not gonna, I'm, I'm gonna tell you the truth here on, we've got to talk. This liberal does actually likes the, the can. I know it's, it's kind of gross, but, um, I like a little sweet with my Turkey.
[00:30:40] nicole: It's kind of yummy,
[00:30:41] Jolene: Oh, no, I agree.
[00:30:42] nicole: right?
[00:30:43] Jolene: the,
[00:30:43] nicole: But, but a fresh cranberry is good.
[00:30:45] Jolene: Yeah, I do a cranberry, and it's just, you boil it, you add a ton of sugar, and it's a little orange
[00:30:51] nicole: I was gonna say, do you put some orange? Because that's what the Union Square Cafe did, and it was delicious. Oh my God.
[00:30:58] Jolene: okay. Wait, is your, is [00:31:00] your dressing a cornbread dressing or a white bread dressing?
[00:31:04] nicole: I love a cornbread.
[00:31:06] Jolene: Real now
[00:31:07] nicole: I,
[00:31:07] Jolene: a southern thing.
[00:31:08] nicole: my mama was southern, so it was, I mean, my dad, my mom and dad lived like, grew up in Texas and met each other in San Francisco. So a lot of my traditions are not that San Franciscan. They are way more, there's like, we'd have okra and we'd have cornbread and you know, we're gonna talk about these in other episodes, but that, that continues on with like certain things that happen at Christmas time for me or New Year's Eve that are full from the southern tradition versus California.
[00:31:37] nicole: And then there's, there's some very California things that. Also, which I think is really cool that you're right.
[00:31:44] Jolene: Yeah, because we, like, we've incorporated probably the last 10 years, Brussels sprouts, you know, like
[00:31:50] nicole: I love Brussels sprouts.
[00:31:52] Jolene: Like, again, with tons of butter and some pine nuts
[00:31:55] nicole: Girl, you love, you love you love your butter.
[00:31:57] Jolene: Oh my God. Do I, I go [00:32:00] through, do you know how much butter I go through making a Thanksgiving dinner?
[00:32:02] Jolene: I am sure it's at least three pounds. I bet I
[00:32:05] nicole: Wow.
[00:32:06] Jolene: of butter and honestly, if you try to use less than that, I think you're wrong. I mean, you're just wrong.
[00:32:12] nicole: listen, it's rude. Your kitchen and you're not gonna be there this year, but your kitchen is so fun and so great. Do you enjoy cooking the Thanksgiving? Have you hosted it there before?
[00:32:25] Jolene: Yes, we did last year. Had my whole family here last year. Yeah, it was great.
[00:32:30] Jolene: okay, so you've talked about Thanksgiving as a kid,
[00:32:33] nicole: Yeah.
[00:32:34] Jolene: an adult then you've had, Jo, you've had friends over in New York.
[00:32:38] nicole: Yes, but most of the,
[00:32:39] Jolene: an adult?
[00:32:40] nicole: before I met Josh, Whitney is one of my best friends. I've known her since we were three years old, and. Her mom, Susie, was one of my mom's best friends, and Susie is like a mom to me,
[00:32:52] nicole: she lives in Napa. She actually hosted our wedding and for years, I mean she always has, we're we're permanently [00:33:00] invited, which is like such an incredible thing to her Thanksgiving.
[00:33:04] nicole: And she lives in this incredibly magical house that she built with views forever. If this, if the fog isn't there, you can see the Golden Gate bridge from Napa. Like it's, she, it looks like an Italian countryside and, but she has this like very modern house and it's just super considered and she's the best host and I love her so much and so she, and has always included me.
[00:33:32] nicole: And so I was going there pretty much every year as an adult for, I don't know, I'm just gonna throw out a number of 15 years or so. And then right when I met Josh, getting political a second. It was actually, uh, 2012 and we met at the, like the third week of October. And I was standing in line ready, I was about to vote for the [00:34:00] 2012 election between Romney and Obama.
[00:34:04] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:34:04] nicole: And I also, I live downtown near the stock exchange at that point, we voted at this residential building around the corner from where I lived and across the street from this. building is a Trump building with this Trump sign.
[00:34:19] nicole: I mean, it's, who knew that this was gonna be our life later, right? So I am standing in line and it's, and I've just started dating this man, but we are crazy about each other. And he texts me and he was a single dad, and he's like, Hey, what are you doing for Thanksgiving? I don't have Jax. And I was like, Hmm.
[00:34:42] nicole: You know, and, and I honestly, I think it had been two weeks by that. Like we had barely,
[00:34:48] Jolene: Oh, we really
[00:34:49] nicole: no. Yeah, we had,
[00:34:50] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:34:51] nicole: started dating October. We had our first date October 22nd, and this would've been like November 4th or something, right? So I [00:35:00] immediately, I see this text and I immediately text Susie and Whitney and I'm like, um, so I met this guy and what do you think They're like, bring him. and at the time I would go out to California and I would spend like 10 days so I could go see all my girlfriends and then spend time up in Napa with my pretend mom. And so Josh flew out and Josh met my pretend family before he met my real family at Thanksgiving in 2012. And within an hour, Tony is Susie's husband and my pretend dad, they were like, so when are you guys getting married?
[00:35:41] nicole: And we got engaged two months after we met, We got engaged in bruised Belgium and we were on the train coming back to, to, um, Brussels, and I immediately emailed Susie and she's like, please get married in my, at my house in Napa.
[00:35:59] Jolene: [00:36:00] Oh,
[00:36:00] nicole: So that's my, that's the Thanksgiving that, it's sort of a Thanksgiving story, but yeah.
[00:36:05] Jolene: yes it
[00:36:06] nicole: Yes. she is my sort of grounded, like it's always, are you guys coming? When are you coming?
[00:36:13] nicole: and Josh and I are so incredibly grateful that we have them and have that safe space. Um, but Thanksgiving can be crazy and very selfishly, you know, we love spending time with them alone.
[00:36:26] nicole: So sometimes it's like, you know, let's just go visit them when it's not Thanksgiving to not deal with all the rest of the, the drama that happens at Thanksgiving. So,
[00:36:35] Jolene: very true.
[00:36:36] nicole: Yeah.
[00:36:37] Jolene: Okay, so our advice for this Thanksgiving to the listener. Do not fret, do not conjure up all of these thoughts of what could go wrong. You're getting together with your cousins or your aunts and uncles, or your siblings and the people that are gonna drive you cr don't, don't think that the worst is [00:37:00] going to happen.
[00:37:00] Jolene: Don't, don't try to paint this picture before you even get there and think of the good that can happen. And make sure that you are not starting your conversations with now. Why do you think that? No, don't start with why. Start with how. How did you come to believe that or tell me what your experience was that that led you to feel that way. Really tried to ask somebody. curiosity, how they came to believe that instead of immediately when you say, now, why do you believe that? Why did you vote for Trump? Why did you, whatever it is, when you start your conversation like that, immediately, the other person has put up a wall and nothing good is gonna happen from that conversation.
[00:37:55] nicole: another thought is if you find yourself in a situation at [00:38:00] Thanksgiving or if it's, if it's an entire weekend, 'cause sometimes that's what this is, it's not just one meal, you're at someone's home or gathering for several days.
[00:38:12] nicole: If something is, really bothering you and it's with one person, sometimes it's, it can be better if you possibly approach them separately from the table and not make it a performance, which I feel like we. Social media have gotten really used to,
[00:38:36] Jolene: Mm-hmm.
[00:38:38] nicole: that we expect that from each other. Um, I, we, we certainly get that Jolene all the time when people watch our podcast or listener our podcast, it's like, well, why aren't you getting mad at Jolene?
[00:38:51] nicole: Or Why aren't you getting mad at Nicole? Jolene and I have done our first interview and we're super excited about it and we'll air several weeks after you will hear this Thanksgiving episode. But one [00:39:00] of the things that our guest talked about that was really helpful was that we all have stories.
[00:39:07] nicole: We all are the main character in our life and everyone else is the extra and we also are the extra in their life. And so if you approach. Each situation as an opportunity to get to know this human being and maybe it sounds corny, but they're a storyteller.
[00:39:33] nicole: Ask them about their life. And it might make sense why they believe, what they believe, what they, how they feel about Trump or guns or abortion or all these hot topics that Jolene and I have been talking about every week. For now, we're in our ninth month, which is so exciting, but it's like we all have so much to give and so much inside of us that [00:40:00] makes us who we are.
[00:40:01] Jolene: Mm-hmm.
[00:40:01] nicole: if you approach it like, here's this person that thinks totally different than me maybe approach it and your brain is like a game. don't make it about you. Because it's actually not about you.
[00:40:14] Jolene: Right. So true. And the curiosity. Go into these conversations with curiosity instead of accusations or, um, assumptions or, preconceived notions. Just go in with curiosity.
[00:40:31] nicole: Yeah. And I think also Jolene, I think it's hard sometimes because a lot of people drink a lot at these, and sometimes they drink a lot at these events 'cause of anxiety or they're uncomfortable. Some people are just having a good time.
[00:40:44] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:40:44] nicole: I'm just suggesting that if you're in a, going into a situation where you're already feeling uncomfortable, maybe don't.
[00:40:52] nicole: Take that next drink because when you inflame your emotions, it can get [00:41:00] real ugly really fast, or even more sensitive things can be said that you don't wanna say. What do you think about that, Jolene? I feel like your face is, you disagree.
[00:41:08] Jolene: say drink more. I
[00:41:10] nicole: Oh,
[00:41:10] Jolene: makes everything more fun. I'm teasing. Go give Aunt Agnes a shot of of
[00:41:19] nicole: I saw your face, and I was like, what? But you know what I mean?
[00:41:22] Jolene: say
[00:41:23] nicole: Yeah. Your face did. And I was like, I just, you know, I listen,
[00:41:28] Jolene: I
[00:41:29] nicole: I, I res, I res,
[00:41:29] Jolene: shots,
[00:41:30] nicole: I respect all the, all the flavors of the people. If you wanna drink or not drink, I don't care. I just, I'm suggesting that sometimes it can be a recipe for trouble.
[00:41:41] Jolene: And I think if you show up at Uncle Jim's house with a round of jello shots, that it'll be the best Thanksgiving you've ever had.
[00:41:52] nicole: Do you have jealous shots at your Thanksgiving?
[00:41:54] Jolene: No,
[00:41:54] nicole: Of course not.
[00:41:55] Jolene: but not that I'm opposed to it.
[00:41:59] nicole: I'm not opposed to it [00:42:00] either. I guess I just said, said I was opposed to it, didn't I? I don't know.
[00:42:06] Jolene: I'm thankful for you, my friend. I am thankful that we've been able to do this podcast together and, been able to explore our own, beliefs, but in a really safe and, um. An accepting way. That has been so great, so
[00:42:24] nicole: thank you. I've, I mean, I'm so grateful for you too. I, there's such a risk, there can be such a risk in working with your friends and. Here we are in a situation where, um, it's so vulnerable and we are talking about such incredibly difficult things, and I can confidently say, I've never felt closer to you, and I'm so proud of who you are and who we are and what we're trying to do.
[00:42:59] nicole: But I'm [00:43:00] like, you're my chosen family friend. I just love you so much. I'm so thankful. I'm so thankful.
[00:43:05] Jolene: sweet.
[00:43:06] nicole: Yeah.
[00:43:06] Jolene: that. Thank you friend.
[00:43:08] nicole: Uh, shall we? Good for the soul.
[00:43:11] Jolene: Yes.
[00:43:16] Jolene: gosh. I love mine. I love, love, love this. And I, I think I have been trying to, um, find other things on my feed, and I think we've said this before that aren't political because I think I do, you know, click on the things that are political and I subscribe more to things that are on both sides of, of the political spectrum.
[00:43:37] Jolene: And so that's what my feed keeps giving me on social media. So I'm trying to search out things that are not political and one that I have found that I love, love, love is people choosing kindness. It is so great because it is, and it's, I think it's international because sometimes
[00:43:56] nicole: is this a, an Instagram handle?
[00:43:58] Jolene: mm-hmm.
[00:43:59] nicole: Okay.
[00:43:59] Jolene: [00:44:00] People choosing kindness and it, um, sometimes it's in, um, other languages, so it's not always, um, uh, it's
[00:44:09] nicole: It's not English thing. Yeah. Okay.
[00:44:11] Jolene: Um, I, I don't think, I guess I don't know that, and it's just, it's fun stuff and it's just happy and it's kids and it's animals and it's people doing happy things and nice things for people and it's great.
[00:44:26] nicole: and it says here to cleanse your Instagram feed.
[00:44:29] Jolene: Oh, there
[00:44:30] nicole: That's nice. That's really nice. I'm gonna follow it right now.
[00:44:35] nicole: Mine is political. Oops. Um, but it's a happy political,
[00:44:41] Jolene: Okay. All right.
[00:44:42] nicole: so this, um, tangle News, one of our favorite news sources collectively, uh, they also a YouTube page and. They were on a little tour, they went out to California and did an in-person event. And so, [00:45:00] so to give a little backstory, the reason I learned about Tangle, and it was right when we talked about, we just started, had decided last November, let's do this podcast.
[00:45:08] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:45:09] nicole: And a girlfriend of mine sent me this. Um, do you know the podcast? This American Life.
[00:45:16] Jolene: Oh yeah.
[00:45:17] nicole: Okay. So she sent me this American Life episode, and it was, and they were doing, I guess they always do it in three acts. And the first story was about this, um, about these families, these relationships that were falling apart because each.
[00:45:34] nicole: Member was either voting for Kamala or voting for Trump. and there was this one couple named Emily and Dick, and they were married and they were so close to getting a divorce because of the election.
[00:45:49] Jolene: Oh,
[00:45:50] nicole: then they, and then they found this news source called Tangle. And so they were interviewed on this American life and as Isaac [00:46:00] Saul would would say, and I was one of the people that started subscribing to them, they got like over a hundred thousand maybe more subscribers in a week because of that particular article.
[00:46:13] nicole: Like they just got flooded and maybe it was even more than a hundred thousand. It was a lot of people. Anyway, the good for the Soul is it's a YouTube, uh, video and it's tangle News and it's a special interview. Turns out they were doing this event in, in Irvine, California, and Emily and Dick live there.
[00:46:33] nicole: And so they, so he got to interview them, and it was, it was really sweet and moving and just,
[00:46:41] nicole: um, and they're happily married and they still, they still rectangle every day. And they are, um, much more informed in a very, independent way as we say. And, um, I think it would give everybody hope, whether you're a conservative or a liberal, I think it's, uh, [00:47:00] there's some hope out there.
[00:47:01] nicole: There's some hope out there.
[00:47:02] Jolene: hope. There
[00:47:03] nicole: Mm-hmm.
[00:47:03] Jolene: hope.
[00:47:04] nicole: gimme your, would you rather,
[00:47:06]
[00:47:11] Jolene: It's a very simple one on this Thanksgiving. Would you rather have pecan pie or pumpkin pie?
[00:47:18] nicole: I knew it would be about food. I knew it. Neither are my favorite. pecan pie, we definitely had it in our family 'cause it was Southern and so I, I remember
[00:47:30] Jolene: mm-hmm.
[00:47:31] nicole: my dad loved pecan pie. It's too sweet for me.
[00:47:34] Jolene: Mm.
[00:47:35] nicole: Um, and pumpkin just not the biggest fan. I love pumpkin ice cream, but, um,
[00:47:41] Jolene: Hmm.
[00:47:41] nicole: I guess I'm gonna go with pumpkin.
[00:47:44] nicole: If it's a really good pumpkin, I'll go there. What about you if you had to choose?
[00:47:49] Jolene: I'm, I am not a pumpkin pie fan at all. Um, never have been.
[00:47:53] nicole: Yeah. I like apple
[00:47:57] Jolene: yeah.
[00:47:58] nicole: with the crumbly top.
[00:47:59] Jolene: a [00:48:00] crumble top.
[00:48:00] nicole: Mm.
[00:48:01] Jolene: I completely agree. But I actually make a derby pie
[00:48:05] nicole: What's that?
[00:48:06] Jolene: it is, think of a pecan pie,
[00:48:09] nicole: Okay.
[00:48:10] Jolene: you put chocolate chips and a little bit of bourbon in there. So
[00:48:14] nicole: Telling you conservatives.
[00:48:16] Jolene: know.
[00:48:18] nicole: What, what, what? I mean, yum.
[00:48:22] Jolene: you think pecan pie is sweet, you throw a little bourbon in there and some chocolate chips and it is divine.
[00:48:29] nicole: but I could, I probably love a bite.
[00:48:32] Jolene: and there is a stick of butter in there as well.
[00:48:35] nicole: Do you have a kind that you like, is you a favorite kind?
[00:48:38] Jolene: Yes, you. Aren't you the one that started me onto Irish butter? Um,
[00:48:42] nicole: Yes. I, it's, um,
[00:48:44] nicole: it's called Kerrygold
[00:48:46] nicole: There is a butter that we used to get at this, at our butcher and the West Village it almost like, like a huge golden egg and it's just filled with salt.
[00:48:56] nicole: It's so delicious. It's really expensive. [00:49:00] We don't get it anymore, but we used to put it on our popcorn and
[00:49:03] Jolene: oh my gosh. Uh, we had popcorn last night. For dinner. It was actually our dinner along with like some cheese and crackers. I woke up this morning and my eyes were slits. I was so swollen, like
[00:49:17] nicole: Oh, too much sodium.
[00:49:19] Jolene: yes, and I loved every minute of it.
[00:49:21] nicole: Good, good girl. Do it. Listen, I, when I get my checkups, I have friends that just tease me because I sa I've told you this before, I salt everything.
[00:49:30] Jolene: mm-hmm.
[00:49:32] nicole: And again, I just have my blood work done again. They're like, your sodium's low, you gotta, I'm like, yes. Gimme some salt.
[00:49:38] Jolene: doing the
[00:49:39] nicole: Yes, gimme some salt.
[00:49:40] nicole: Okay, here's the deal. My would you rather is political. I don't know what happened, but I'm just being political today. 'cause I was thinking about Thanksgiving and I'm thinking about so much, there's so much anxiety and I'm like, just, or you could just walk into the house and say, Hey everybody, we're not gonna talk politics.
[00:49:59] nicole: End of [00:50:00] story. You could do that. Right?
[00:50:02] Jolene: Yeah, sure
[00:50:02] nicole: Okay. But not with my, would you rather you ready?
[00:50:04] Jolene: Okay.
[00:50:06] nicole: Would you rather host Thanksgiving weekend, the whole weekend
[00:50:13] Jolene: Okay.
[00:50:14] nicole: with Chuck Schumer? Or Hakeem Jeffries
[00:50:23] Jolene: Oh my God. to
[00:50:25] nicole: they're gonna hang out in the Ozarks with you at your beautiful home
[00:50:28] Jolene: for the whole
[00:50:29] nicole: for the whole weekend. Sit on the porch, drink the coffee. Who is it gonna be, sister?
[00:50:36] Jolene: I, okay, I'm probably gonna choose Chuck Schumer. And here's why. Because first of all, I listened to an interview with Hakeem Jeffries on Friday, driving in the car. And it, I was listening to CNN and they had this interview and I need to find out who the interviewer was because he was fantastic and he was feeling in for somebody.
[00:50:59] Jolene: And I don't [00:51:00] typically listen to CNN in the afternoon, so I'm not sure who it was.
[00:51:04] Jolene: they were really tough questions and Hakeem was not answering, but like, he asked a very pointed question and Hakeem wouldn't answer it, and he goes, okay, I, I appreciate you telling me that, but the, here's my question. My question is blah, blah, blah. And, and, he was trying to dance around it, and, and it was such a, I'm like, okay, well thank goodness you're holding his feet to the fire
[00:51:27] nicole: Yeah. Right, right.
[00:51:29] Jolene: on this instead
[00:51:29] nicole: All right. Right.
[00:51:30] Jolene: on to your next thing
[00:51:31] nicole: Mm-hmm.
[00:51:33] Jolene: And it was during this, and it was about the government shutdown.
[00:51:35] Jolene: And I was getting so frustrated with Hakeem Jeffries answers because again, it was just the same talking points over and
[00:51:44] nicole: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:51:45] Jolene: again. And he wasn't really saying anything and, and it was just frustrating. So I'm gonna go with Chuck Schumer. hoping that, um, he could bring his niece, Amy Schumer with him. I would invite the family, if it's Thanksgiving that I'm gonna invite the [00:52:00] family because I think that it, she would just keep us all laughing all weekend long.
[00:52:05] nicole: I actually think that by the end of that weekend, you and Chuck would be seriously big buddies. I really do.
[00:52:11] Jolene: yeah, we probably would.
[00:52:13] nicole: Yeah. I didn't think about any of that Amy part. That would be really fun.
[00:52:17] Jolene: Yeah. I mean, if it's Thanksgiving, I'm gonna invite his whole family, not just him.
[00:52:21] nicole: I like this for you. Let's make it happen.
[00:52:25] Jolene: Charlie. If you wanna come to Thanksgiving, not this
[00:52:29] nicole: Yeah. Not this year. Exactly. Next year. All right, dol. Um, thank you so much and thank you listener and viewer for, uh, coming on this ride with us. And if you wanna share, uh, your Thanksgiving traditions and what you have done in the past, what you're doing this year, uh, you can, uh, share your comments on the YouTube page, on Facebook, on Instagram, on LinkedIn, on all the places.
[00:52:55] nicole: Quite frankly, we are there and you can contact us on the contact page [00:53:00] if we've got to talk as well.
[00:53:01] Jolene: we would also love to hear that if you have had an experience after Thanksgiving that maybe you, took some of our advice and you had a conversation with someone that you were maybe not looking forward to having a conversation with, let us know how it goes. We'd appreciate
[00:53:20] nicole: We would, we would and we got you.
[00:53:24] Jolene: you.
[00:53:24] nicole: Yes. Thank you. And uh, Jolene happy Thanksgiving.
[00:53:28] Jolene: Happy Thanksgiving. Please like and subscribe if you would please, and if you would like to be a sponsor, let us know.
[00:53:35] nicole: Yes,
[00:53:35] Jolene: you. Bye
[00:53:36] nicole: bye.
