Thanksgiving Traditions, My Mom’s Deviled Eggs, and Why the Studio Is the Gym for Your Soul

This is the Dearing Acting Studio Podcast, where we discuss the connection between life and acting. Now hold on, I want you to hear this. Listen till the end. Is there an ending? Remember when I told you that Brian yells? Oh yeah, you did say that. Hold on. Oh, that's funny! Hey! That's great! Alright everybody, welcome to the podcast. I'm Matthew Dearing here with Joey Sweeney and Shea Toepel.

And speaking of Brian, he is not here today. There's an empty mic at the table today. Because he lost his voice yesterday teaching the classes playing Ninja Star. It's tough to be a go-getter. It is. Were you there, Joey? Did you hear any of this Ninja Star action? Yeah, I got one thrown in the back of my head while I was in the bay. So could you do a Brian impression?

Well, basically… Of Brian playing the game Ninja Star? Yeah, of course. I would love to. However, I don't want to hurt my voice, so I'm going to tone it down a little bit. But it sounded something like this, where it was, like, that thing called a diaphragm. I just don't think we used it. And so it was like, alright kids, like, alright, we're going to play Ninja Star right now.

And here we go. You're just going to go with this crazy action and you're going to go… Yikes! For, like, three classes. I have absolutely zero pity. And then somehow, six hours of doing that, he lost his voice. Yeah, who'd have thought? Who'd have thought? Let me just, like, hit the… What? Oh. There we go. Sorry. Oh, that's okay. Oh, that was so anticlimactic. The tail end of it was fine.

Yeah. So we're coming up on Thanksgiving, Shea, which means that I'm eating chocolate-covered almonds from Costco. Oh. And so this is funny. So yesterday, I texted Matt and, like, we are… It's rare that I'll text him about something, like, completely not work-related. What did I do? Did I read it again and not respond? No, no, no, no. You responded. Okay, I'm like… But it was funny because it wasn't…

I knew it was something we'd talk about, like, later if he didn't text back. But I was, like, really nervous sending it because I didn't want to put him in, like, a weird position. Once you guys know what the text message is, you're going to laugh. But… That's funny because I have no idea what it is. Shea, I feel like the segment of this podcast that is yours is always you talking about Matt's text messages.

It is. Like, no, but this had nothing to do with the text message part. But I shot him a quick text because my mom texted my husband, Jake, and I. And she said, hey, like, do you guys mind making some light appetizers for Thanksgiving? And Jake responds and goes, of course. And my mom responds with six GIFs, as she typically will do. And I said, oh, my gosh.

I would really like… Because I've never made them on my own. I would really like to make deviled eggs. And I have never had a better deviled egg than Chris… You can call her mom-a-dearing. It's fine. Yeah, mom-a-dearing. Chris's mom. Oh, my gosh. Matt's mom, Chris, makes these unbelievable, unbelievable deviled eggs. And I'm a big deviled egg fan, but… Big deviled egg girl. Yeah, yeah. But they get weird.

People get a little bit weird with their deviled eggs. And Matt brought this, like, super fancy Tupperware in of deviled eggs. You know why I had those? Why? Because my mom made… Was that Easter? How'd it have been? I think it was. How'd it have been Easter? Whatever. It was something that we were throwing at our house. And my mom made her deviled eggs for the thing.

And she had that fancy Tupperware… Yes. …just for the deviled eggs. Like, it's a Tupperware that holds half an egg… Yep. …in a bunch of them. And the reason I had them is because she forgot them. Oh. She meant to take them back to her house. And she forgot them in my fridge. No. Yeah. And I called her, and I said, Mom, you left your deviled eggs here.

Yeah. And I'm not gonna really have time to get them to you… Right. …before they're gonna go bad. So… So I feel awful for this work and effort you've put into these eggs. If they're not gonna be eaten. Really, I think I should take them to the studio. Yeah. And we should enjoy them here. I think I had, like, seven of them. To which she agreed. She's nice.

I can't eat eggs. So that's a sad part of my life. So that's a sad part of my life. I feel bad for you in that part. Because I just… I think they're so great. So I texted Matt. Because in Jake's family, he's very, very hardcore Italian. And, like, sharing recipes is a big deal when you pass down recipes into the family. And, actually, when I first learned how to make meatballs and learned how to make sauce, that was probably two or three years before Jake and I got engaged.

And Donna, my mother-in-law, was like, you're in. Just to let you know. Because of the sauce? Yeah. Because it's a really big deal. It's a really big deal. And so I kind of, you know, I texted Matt and said, do you think that would be okay? Like, would your mom be weird about it? Is it a family secret? And he responds and goes, 100p, she'd give it to you.

And my heart just… Wait, he said 100p? He did. I did. He put 100p, she would give it to you. Wow. So they won't be as good. I'm a little disappointed. But they'll be… Maybe they will. Why are you disappointed? Because it's like, that's Shea's thing. And it's fine that it's Shea's thing. You need to just succumb to it. I'm not going to convert to the 100p lifestyle.

Oh, it's nice. You know, it's actually fun. If you can just join into it, it's an improv game is all it is. So it's like, how many things can you abbreviate? You know, and what's funny is Brian's in, but he doesn't know he's in. That's what's hilarious. And he's so in. The other day he says this. I know you guys heard this. He goes, I don't know.

I'm just not into the abreaves. Oh, I know. And I go, dude, you just did it. Yeah. And he's trying really hard to appropriately place in the my guy. He's getting there. It's not all the way in yet. But. I still have to, I still have to figure out my guy. My guy. Because it feels like an insult. It, it, you know, you said that when we were talking about the podcast, I was listening back to it when I was writing the description.

And essentially, I, I do think you're right. I think when I say it, I'm, I'm essentially trying to, like, in a funny way, play, like, that would be me placing blame, I suppose. Like, I would be like, well, you know, we're not going to go there, my guy. Like. Yeah, right. Yeah. Like, it, it definitely has a sarcastic. It's a downer. And it sounds a little like.

I don't think it's a downer. Like, little, like, little. My guy. Little kid. Really? Yeah, like, you know, I don't think you should be touching that. Buddy. Little, little boy. My guy. Like, it has the same ring to it, is what I'm saying. Interesting. Interesting. So, I. It has the same, like, connotation. So, I, that's why I reacted, because I, I was thinking, like, oh, why are you coming at me?

Right. Because I thought you were, I thought you were coming at me. Right. No. And then everybody else came at me, because I was like, oh, I reacted to my guy, but I thought it was an insult. I don't even remember this. When was this? It was a podcast. Oh. Do you ever listen to him? Interesting. You were probably checked out at that point. Yeah. Yeah, probably.

If I had the sound effects, I would. Wow. That was pretty good. I would have played it. That was pretty good. So, we have Thanksgiving coming up next week. And Thanksgiving, apart from Christmas, because Christmas rains, obviously, is the best holiday, in my opinion. Obviously. IMO. But, Thanksgiving, I love. Let's talk about it. Why is there a drum roll? I don't know. Because Thanksgiving is like, it deserves a drum roll.

Does it not? If it were on time. So, what's your favorite part of Thanksgiving? Because we joke that the guys tend to watch football. Yeah. And the girls, and this is very stereotypical. So, I'm not, obviously, it's not every household or anything. No, but the girls cook. But around your house, that's the case. And around my house, that's the case. And it's very, so it's always been that way.

So, my grandma did it with my mom. And then, my grandma did it with my mom and my sister and I. And then, my mom and sister and I did it. And now, for the last couple years, it's exclusively been me and my mom. And we wake up at the crack of dawn. And we do it all day Wednesday. And we really… Is it stressful, though? Like…

It's not. It's… We have a very… We like to do the shopping together. And it's something that is really… It's become traditional. Very traditional. And it's very fun for us to do together. Because I learn a lot during it. And so, that really is… I love the cooking process. I love all that. See, that's cool. And I got to tell you that this is going to sound weird.

But the watching of football is traditional, too. Absolutely. I don't even care about most of the games. I even watched the silly Thanksgiving Day parade thing. Yep. And, like, I watch more TV in two days than I watch all year. Right. Because it's just, oh, like, at every house you go to, the football game's on. Yep. And it's just kind of what the guys do. Yep. They sit around the TV.

And then they have small talk every now and then. Yep. And then usually we go out in the street and play… Right. You know, some touch football until somebody gets hurt. Well, in the weather, too, it's going to be… The last I checked, it's going to be 61 on Thanksgiving. Is the high? Is the high. Nice. And with a chance of rain, which I'm just… I am so…

I'm a happier, better person when it's gloomy outside. I just always have been. See, and I haven't seen the sun in three days, and I was really sad about it because of all the rain. I'm like, when is the sun coming back? Oh, I love it. It hailed yesterday. Jake asked me, he said, did it hail over by you guys? And I said, no. I mean, it torrentially rained, but it full on hailed over in the East Valley.

Yeah. It's pretty cool that we've had all this rain and still no leaks around here. Yeah. We were dealing with some leaks in the studio. That was always a bummer. It's a big deal. It's a big deal. I didn't even think about that this time around. Oh, I did. It's funny. I was like, wow, this is, because it was like pouring harder than I've seen it before anyway, and it was like three days straight, and I'm like, wow, they did a good job.

Kudos to the roof fixer guys. Hey, thanks. Actually, there was, okay, so interestingly enough, the last time they came to fix the roof, there was a guy who came in, really nice younger man, and came in and was so kind and so professional and called me ma'am, which I always think is funny, because I think I'm too young to be called ma'am at this point, but really professional, took pictures of everything, sent him to my email, like just a nice guy, and his, I took the time, because I love doing this, and I hope somebody would do this for me someday, and I emailed his boss, and I was like, whoever this guy is that you have working for you is a gem, and he's awesome, and he was very professional, and like he did his job really well, and really communicate, I mean, he would come down after every move he made, and communicate it with me, did I understand most of it?

No, but it was the, I just had to say that, because he was, he was so kind, and his boss really was thrilled that I had said that, and I hope that that transpired into, that got back to him, or he got a raise, or something, you know? That's cool, that's a good way, I think, to give Thanksgiving year-round, is to be grateful of the people that actually do a good job, you know, somebody who, I love being around anybody who does whatever they do to the best of their ability, like that's really exciting for me, and it doesn't, it really hasn't, it doesn't matter whatever it is, like the guy, somebody could come in, and they fix the toilet, and you look at, and you watch them work, and you're like, this person loves what they do, they do it really well, they're a craftsman, and they're, and they're taking their time, and doing it to, to the standard of perfection, and I'm like, this is, it's just fascinating to watch somebody.

Yeah, especially, and it gives you such an appreciation for people who have skills that, that you don't have, you know, and that you just are grateful for. So do you, do you, do you have a Black Friday tradition, has that been something, a thing for you? I have always worked Black Friday, always, and so that was always, when I was working at the boutique, managing, I would, I would always, always work it, and it would just be this crazy, so I would be on the, the sale side of it.

Is it not fun? My, my sister says she hates the Black Friday thing, because she's at Bed Bath & Beyond, and they just get crushed over there. It's horrible, I mean, it's, and it's, it, people get, people really do get crazy on Black Friday. I did it once, I did the whole, I went to Kohl's at like 2.30 in the morning. Kohl's? Yeah. Did you, did you get aggressive?

I didn't get aggressive, but. Did you elbow anybody? I, I, you know, I kept. Tell me, tell me you elbowed somebody. I kept the elbows in. Okay. Did you, did you hit a mannequin? No. Did you receive any like kicks in the shin or anything? No, but people really are like, well, that was mine first, you know, I saw it. And so really, yes, like people are.

Did that happen to you? Or did you just hear it? I heard it. Like I heard it going on next to me and I was like looking over and it just, you know, like that, you know, you see on the news all the time about people getting stampeded and over tickle me almost. Yeah. And stuff like that. And like, here's, here's my thing about Black Friday is if you are looking for a big ticket item, so say you're looking for a $700 TV and you can, you know, and it's something you've saved for whatever, and that's your item and you're going to get it for $200.

Yeah. Like go stand in the line and go do that. If it's going to save you that and that's something that you're really looking for. But other than that, I say just stay home. Like, because I think it's just a, it's just consumerism like at its best. It's brutal. It's brutal. I think Black Friday always just ends up being the topic that you talk to your families about after Thanksgiving.

Right. Like all the crazy stories. Oh, so you guys are, was the, was the Sweeney family a big Black Friday goer? No, but they like to make fun of what happened. Oh, like, so they just talk about the news stories of other people. Totally. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, they, they dwell on the news, but it's, it's, it's pretty funny to see sometimes what happens, like, like you said, like people will fight over a Tickle Me Elmo.

Yeah. And you're just like, really? It's a, it's a kid's toy, guys. Yeah. So, so what's the big, the big item this year? Does anyone know? Like what's on the thing? I have no clue. Probably. Oh, like the big item that stores are selling? Yeah. Like who's going to, who's going to, what's going to get fought over this year? Do you know? I mean, TVs get fought over every year.

Well, so, so like here's something interesting. I wonder. This is funny, but, um, so we went, we went shopping for our kids on a date night last weekend and we went to this place. You already did it? Yeah. Yeah. You're already done with your Christmas shopping? For our, for our kids. For the kids? Oh my gosh. We're halfway done with all of our Christmas shopping. Oh my gosh.

Would you say that you're planners? You know what? Here's the thing. I, I gotta tell you, we love Christmas so much because we really do. It's, it's a, it's so much fun with your kids. If, if I think if you do it right. So we, we pull out the little, you know, 30 day calendar thing and the kids get a little treat every day and they read a little Bible verse and, um, and to them it's like, it's so magical.

Yes. And so we like to delay that process cause it's really fun. So normally, and we didn't do it this year, we, we, we just put up decorations, but normally it's like November 1st, we put up Christmas decorations. So then they're up for a while because I think a lot of people wait till like middle of December and then it's like only a couple of weeks, two weeks, you know, but then the day after Christmas, we cannot wait.

Like, so the Christmas they're down, it's down the day after Christmas because they've been up for too long. Yep. Um, but then we don't get stuck. Like I, my parents used to get stuck in this place where, because they put up the Christmas decorations late, right. Then they're like, ah, we'll keep it up through the new year and then, and then next thing you know, it's March and you still have some lights up and it's a little embarrassing.

Yep. My family did that too. Yeah. So, so we kind of, we've kind of gone the opposite way. So yes, we went, we went shopping. Are you, are you the family with the elf on the shelf? No, we don't do the elf. We don't do the elf on the shelf. Yeah. Okay. Um, you know, it's interesting because we, Leanne and I grew up, uh, believe like with different, um, you know, her parents treated Christmas differently than my parents treated Christmas.

So her parents were all about Jesus. My parents were all about Santa Claus. Right. So, uh, so she wasn't all about Santa Claus all that much. And I'm like, Santa Claus is important. We need to do Santa Claus. And so there's a, you know, we found this happy medium somewhere in there and we, uh, we do Santa, but we don't, we don't make it too big of a deal.

And yeah, for me, uh, the elf on the shelf, like brings a lot of joy. So like, I'm okay with it. But at the same time, like, like then you're just, you're moving an elf, you know, for 30 days and, and it becomes another thing that like, it's magical to your kids, but at the same time you're still lying to them. Yeah. That's the, that's the hard thing.

That's, that's the, that's the catch 22 when it comes to that, because here's the thing. I'm all grown up now. All right. And my parents provided Santa Claus and, and I don't hold, I'm not like mad at them for that. Yeah. I have happy memories of it. And when I found out they were lying, I wasn't mad at them. I was kind of like, Oh, that sucks.

But cool. Thank you for all the years of toys. Like that was really nice. So I don't know. I, I, but I get it because you are, you're totally lying to your kids. Were you, were you the kid though? Cause I was this kid. Were you the kid that wasn't told in time? So you fought for Santa Claus for the longest time? Definitely. I was that kid.

Yeah. I was at school going like, Oh, I know, I know Santa's real. And other kids are like, you're dumb. And I'm like, you're dumb. Yeah. You're dumb-ber. Dumb-ber. See, my sister had kids early on. So, um, I was nine when she had her first kid. So, cause my sister's 13 years older than me, I should probably clarify that. Um, so it, so Christmas became about her, her kids.

So I, I kind of was told as an aunt at 10 years old, like, Hey, you know, Santa's not real. And I'm like, Oh, okay, cool. Oh, okay. But it became, it wasn't like, I don't remember it being like super climactic, but what was so cool is that then, then we got, cause my sister has five kids. So all through, and, and they're all once the oldest is 16 and the youngest is a year.

So we had, we've had so many years of Christmas for kids and that's the funnest part. It absolutely is, is magic and getting to see their faces and, and believe. So we go on a walk every year and we have a, my, my husband will laugh at me forever, but we call it smorgasbord. And what it is, is it's meat and cheese and crackers and my mom puts out the whole thing on Christmas Eve.

And we, uh, the whole family goes for a walk and my sister and I and my mom stay behind. Um, we put out cookies for Santa and we do the whole thing. And then the gentlemen go on a walk with all the kids and they go find Santa in the sky and they go find a red light. And by the time they get home, Santa has come and everything's laid out and it's, oh, that's cool.

It's magic. How do you guarantee a red light? It's magic. They, they find, they always find one and it, and sometimes you'd be surprised. Like sometimes, man, sometimes I just think things are magic because you, you'll look up and you'll see something and you're like, man, that, if that were real, like that'd be really cool. Um, yeah. And they come out and we, um, we put footprints on the ground and we, you know, take bites of the cookie and then everything's sprawled out.

So you're a Santa. Yeah. What a sacrifice. It really is the whole thing. And it's super cool. So you don't, so the kids don't wake up to it. No. So we, so my family, my whole life has done Christmas on Christmas Eve. Interesting. So I do a big Christmas, Christmas Eve too, but then, but then Christmas morning was always the Santa. No, we do. We open all the presents on Christmas Eve.

And then what happens in my family is we do a second Thanksgiving on Christmas's day. So do you, do you remember, um, finding out about Santa? I remember not understanding why Santa was going to some houses at nighttime and some was going in the morning. What? And so then they told you that was it? Yeah. What about you? Uh, I, I never investigated. So, um, that was, you just kind of found out.

Yeah. No, like literally. Did you find out from kids at school? Yeah. Oh, okay. Yeah. I was that kid. I fought for Santa. And then I came home and my dad was like, nah, dude, you're, you're dumb. Like, no, but it was like, it was like, I was probably 14. I was probably 14. It was like end of middle school when I found out. You know, I don't, I don't see any harm in that.

Like, I, I really don't like let your kid believe in, in Santa. The only, the only harm is if, if you're fighting for a cause that's totally fake against like 30 other kids. Well, here, let me, let me tell you how I found out. Oh. My. That was more. It's the wrong music. But, my sister, my older sister sits me down. How old, how much older at the time?

Well, she's still the same amount older. So she's, she's four years older than I am. Okay, okay. And I don't know how old I am. I know I'm young. Yeah. I know I totally believe in Santa. Yeah. And she sits me down and she says, Matt, I got to tell you something. I'm like, what? She goes, Santa's not real. And I'm like, what? And she's like, I'm serious.

Mom and dad do all of it. And I'm like, really? And she goes, yeah. And she goes, here's the thing though, Matt. You got to keep believing. Because we have to convince Kimberly, that my little sister, that Santa's real for as long as possible because then we will keep getting presents from mom and dad for a really long time. So we did to Kimmy what happened to you.

Kimmy believed for forever because her older siblings kept it going for selfish reasons. Oh, my God. Totally. Totally. So that's how I found out about Santa and then just flipped it right away. I'm like, love Santa. Wait, wait. Hold on. Hold on. Wouldn't it have been smarter for her to just let you keep believing? No, because she knew that I was getting to it. Like my sister's smart.

She's a strategist. So she knew I was getting to an age where kids were going to come at me at school and stuff and I was going to start questioning. And she's like, I need to. And she knew you'd go tell Kimmy. Right. Or that my parents would know that I knew and then they would be like, okay. It's not that important anymore. Yeah. Maybe we'll do one more year with Kim and we'll be done.

Yeah. But they're like, oh, man, Matt still believes. Like, cool. And I mean, and my mom went all out for Santa, like crazy all out. So my sister was a genius. I mean, really. That's so smart. And also deceitful. But really, if you think about it, the parents are deceiving the kids. Yeah. And the kids turn around and deceive the parents. Yeah. Absolutely. So anyway. That's bad.

That's bad. That's really bad. So I'm shopping for Black Friday. Yes. And my wife asks about this thing. She says, do you have the Barbie? It's like a caravan thing. Okay. Like a big old truck thing that the Barbies can get into. And the lady says, no. And I tell you what, if you find one, you should buy it. Because this year, we're all out. We've been all out.

I tried to order more and they're out of stock. Everywhere I can find. And what's funny is I don't care. I never even heard of the toy. But as soon as I heard that, I'm like, I don't want to get one of those. You've got to find it. I don't want to get one of those. So I'm sure that all the manufacturers probably do this. They probably grab one toy, whatever it is.

And they're like, nope. We're going to take it away from you. Then we're going to release a limited amount of them on Black Friday. And say, magically, there's five in the state. Right. Have fun. Have fun fighting over them. Go find it. And come into our stores and then buy everything. That's like maniacal. Totally. But I think that's what happens. That's super maniacal. I think that's what happens.

You know what happens every year for my family is my dad gets a new TV. Every year? Every single year. It's so funny. Screw mine. It's like a… Every year. Yeah. It's like a known thing. So he'll like… He never says he'll do it. Where are the rest of the 30 TVs from the last 30 years? Right. Like you… Like every year he'll get a new one and then he'll give his old one away.

To who? Anybody? To somebody. He's giving them to me. He's giving them to both of my brothers. So he just upgrades. He's giving them to my mom. He's taken the downgrade before. That's what's funny. He just… But he like won't go without getting a TV because he's like, the TVs are so cheap. And that's just the way my dad is. It's like he won't pass up a deal.

So he'll go to… Like he'll look in the magazines and he'll act like he's not going to do it. And then he'll come back and he'll be like, hey guys, I got a new TV. And it's just this funny thing because like you just know it's going to happen every single year. Totally. I just love the whole giving because my family is really… My mom's side is very, very small, but my family is really big and Jake's family is huge.

And it's always been more about the get together. And like when I was a kid, obviously my mom was a single mom before she met my stepdad, Tom. And then there was a couple of years where we had a really rough time when I was in middle school. Um, and you know, my mom every year always says, hey, it's going to be a light Christmas this year.

Like always. And I remember when, when it really, really was. Wait, she still says that? Oh yeah. My mom does that too. Hey, it's going to be a light. But then it's not, right? Well, my mom is the worst because she's the best, best worst. But she's so funny because she'll, she's very like, especially when it comes to my sister and I, she, she's, she wants to be equal.

Yeah. Um, and I get, and I get that and she wants to, you know, do, do all these fun things and then she'll feel like she doesn't have enough. But here's the thing. So then one year we're at, we're at Walgreens and we're walking around and I was like, oh, I've seen that on TV. It's so funny. Um, it's a, it's a bowl that you wrap bacon around to make a bacon bowl.

So then she went back to the store and got it for me. The bacon bowl. The bacon bowl. Because I had pointed out like, oh, it's so funny. I saw that on TV and like wraps it and like just so excited for me to open it. And it's so funny because she, cause she really thinks about it. Like, she's like, oh, she'd really like that. Like, so she's the best, worst gift buyer.

Yeah. And she's really, she really is good, but she, and then I'm like, mom, like that's, that was so silly. Do you still, do you still have a bacon bowl? I do. No. I have it at home. Have you used it? I've never used it. I've never used it. She's going to listen to this. I love you so much, mom, but I've never used the bacon bowl.

My mom does the same thing on my birthday last year. She got me the same thing. She got me on Christmas by accident and it's, it was a treasure chest and I'm 19 years old. Did you tell your mom you didn't like it the last time? Sand treasure chest. I did. And then she got it. Oh, you did. Okay. Why did you ask for a treasure chest?

I didn't ask. No, no, no. What I'm saying is here's the thing. I actually think at a certain point you have to start parenting your parents, but if you did, then there's, then there's, then there's no excuse. Yeah. Well, I told her, but every now and then I'd be like, dad, by the way, Hey, this is like, like Jack's not into trains anymore. Right. So that's a bad gift.

So just so you know, he's into this now. And it's a little harder when it's yourself. But even with myself, I would do the same thing. I'd be like, just so you know, like I, that's not my style. I don't wear those kinds of clothes and like, thank you. But you know, gift card be better or, you know, here's where I shop if you want to do that.

But, um, but cause, cause I feel, I feel worse about wasting. Gasting something. Yeah. Yeah. You know, so if someone gives you it like a gift and then they're like, you like it and you're like, nah, I don't, but thank you. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, and that's the thing. It's like the intent. So like, I, I never get upset about it, but it's just one of those things where every year I know I'm like, I'm going to get, I'm going to get a weird present this year and it's just gonna, it's going to be fine.

Yeah. Well, I guess I got to take the treasure chest back. That I don't show it. You got one. I got him one too. Didn't you? I did. Bummer. Well. Quick, quick thing. Uh, does anybody else do the white elephant? I've done it so many times and it's so annoying. What? Here's the problem with the white elephant. I have so many problems with the white elephant. I lucked out with our white elephant last year.

Oh, it's breaking my heart. Okay. So, all right. The white elephant's fun. Here's the problem. There's too many rules. I'm just going to lay this out here. There's too many rules, but there's also not enough rules. No, no. I mean, I mean, there's, there's too many variations of rules at different homes. So there's like, oh, like, which rules are you going to play by? And blah, blah, blah.

And it's like, okay, that's fine. And then the whole gift card thing has ruined the game. It's ruined the game. I've never thought about that. Because the whole point of it in the beginning was try to find something special, something cool for 20 bucks. For this amount of money. Yep. Mm-hmm. Then it went to like gag gifts. Yep. Like, oh, bring a gag gift for 20 bucks.

And then someone throws in there a gift card. Right. And then everyone's like, oh, I should have just brought a gift card. Well, now what happens is half the presents are gift cards. Right. True. And then everyone's just passing back and forth $25 gift cards. And so half the people get a gift card of either someplace they, like a good one, like Visa, because it's whatever you want to get.

Or you get a 25 gift card to Olive Garden. Totally. And you're like, I don't like Olive Garden. And now I got 25 bucks to the Olive Garden. I don't really want that. I feel like you're one of the people that goes for the gift card in every game. Well, of course. Like, that's the strategy. Like, I don't want the peanuts in the bottle of alcohol. Like, that's not my thing.

So, yeah. I mean, if I'm going to enter the game, which I feel like you have to at these parties, then I'm going to try to get the gift card. But now I'm at the place where I'm like, everyone should bring a gift card. And if everyone's bringing a gift card, there's no point to the game. Yeah. No, I don't agree with the gift card thing. I love the white elephant more at my Aunt Val's house, because they each get the same deal.

It's like a weird, weird present. And it's not a gag gift. It's something like every year, whatever I got, I used it. But it's so funny, because, like, 25% of it is Nebraska-themed. And then the rest is just, like, you don't know what you're going to get. There's board games. There's remote control helicopters. Like, there's crazy things. And so it turns into this, like, strategy between families.

So it's like a real-life game of risk. And you're like, all right, all right, we have three steals on this. So I'm going to steal from Brian. Wait, wait, wait. So the whole family is in on one gift? No, we each bring our own. Every person. But then we play as a team, kind of. Oh, so then you're, like, trying to steal along. We do that, too.

Yeah, you're not supposed to, but we do it. Yeah, no one's supposed to. And each family does it. So it's like an unspoken rule that, like, you do it. But, like, that's so fun. Like, no matter what I get every year, I'm like, all right, let's strategize this thing, you know. And I noticed the thing in the biggest box is never the thing you want. No, no.

Ever. Ever. Ever. It's probably going to be one of those big tubs of popcorn that the real estate agent gave you for free. And then you didn't want it, so you bring it to the white elephant. Yep. And it's in a big old box. And everyone's like, oh, big box. And you're so tempted. Oh, don't open it. You're going to be tempted to open it. Don't open it.

Okay, I have a really weird off topic, but one of the greatest things that's ever happened that I wanted to tell you guys about that I think is so smart. When Jake and I bought our house, our aunt is our realtor, Jake's aunt. And she gifted us with commission towards the house, and she could only give us a certain amount. So she gave us the rest of the amount on a Costco gift card, and we still are using it.

Dang. And I thought, I was like, that is so smart. Like, instead of the wine or, you know, the money that we would have spent on something else, like, I just thought that was brilliant. And I'm like, man. That's a gift that keeps on giving right there. It absolutely does. Like, and I would totally give people, like, for Christmas, like, I would totally give a Costco gift card.

I've never been to Costco besides, like, walking through. Oh, you've walked through it, though. But I've never shopped at Costco. Oh, man. Because you've got to be a member. Well, my family's never had a card, and, like… Were they Team Sam's Club? No. Both my parents worked for Bashas'. Yeah. Oh, yeah. So it's like… So the deals at Costco, they already get the deals. Right. Yeah. Man, Costco's like a…

But kind of. Not really, though. Especially nowadays. Bashas' is, like, down in their game with discounts. But it used to… Back in the day. Back in the day, you used to be able to get things cheap. Yeah. Like, dirt cheap, especially if you were an employee. But now it's getting harder. Well, thinking of Thanksgiving… Speaking of Thanksgiving, we should wrap this up soon. But I think we'd all like to say that we're very grateful for our studio family here.

100 P. All of our team members. But all of our students. Everybody who comes in here, whoever has come in here, we're so grateful for the history of what we're about and where we are. We're doing something very interesting this year for Black Friday and all those same holiday things where we're not going to send you out in the world to fight over each other. But we are offering something.

And here's the thing. It's funny because I'm going to bring… I'll bring light to the dark real quick. Like, the truth is… Dark to the light. What did I say? Light to the dark? Yes. Dark to the light. I'm sorry. We're going to bring the dark to the light here. Where the truth is that we would stand to gain something from this promotion we're running. But truthfully, like from our hearts, it's such a bummer because every holiday season, we see it.

We see it in our own lives. But people stop investing in themselves. Yes. Is what happens. And so you start eating poorly. You stop working out. You stop reading. You stop doing your good habits. And I feel like the Dearing Acting Studio is like the gym for your soul. And when you're the most stressed over the holidays, you think to yourself, I can't afford class. And I can't afford the time because I'm too stressed out.

But my feeling is you can't afford not to come because it's the thing that lights you up. If that is true, you shouldn't give it up. You should fight for it. So what we've come up with is a way to alleviate some of your stress, give you a gift to give somebody else, an expensive gift too. So it's however much the class costs that you're in. So say for adults, it would be $180.

Just by taking care of yourself and being in the class, you get a $180, essentially, gift certificate that you get to give to somebody else on Christmas. So one of your presents is already done. And it's a nice present. It's an expensive present. You get to help somebody and lift up their lives and invite them in here. And that's our gift to you is just take care of yourself and don't give up on the self-care.

And we're going to help you give to somebody else and hopefully alleviate some of that stress. So I know a lot of people are excited about that and have already been taken advantage. So we're really, really pumped that that's a way that we can give back this year. Wow. That's so cool. Love you guys. Love you guys. Happy Thanksgiving! We need Christmas music, man. We should have Christmas music.

Yeah! Do we have a Christmas music playoff? It's beginning to look along like Christmas. Christmas. Yeah, we'll work on it. We'll work on it for next time. All right, everybody. Have a dearly day.