Guinn and Bare It: Thanksgiving Linkup!

I'm participating in Lacey's Thanksgiving linkup over at Guinn and Bare It. You should go check her blog out. I enjoy reading it!

Turkey day Questions:


1.What is one of your families thanksgiving feast traditions? We honestly don't really have an traditions. It's pretty sad. Maybe I should start one this year.

2.Do you have a specific plate you cook every year? No, I bring whatever I'm told to bring. This year no one told me to bring anything so I'm making a pumpkin upside cake. It's delicious! Want the recipe?

Here you go:

1 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs, beaten
29 oz can pumpkin (I use libby's brand)
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 oz can evaporated milk
1 pound yellow cake mix
1 cup chopped nuts (I use pecans)
4 tablespoons melted butter
whipped cream (for serving)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together sugar, eggs, pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger,cloves, salt, and milk. Lightly spray a 9x13 pan. Pour mixture in. Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the pumpkin mixture, then sprinkle on the nuts. pour the melted butter even over all.

Bake 50-60 mins
(It's done when a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean)
Cool. Serve with whipped cream.

3.Do you ever wish that you were a pilgrim...and that you were there for the first feast? Eh, not really.

4.What are you thankful for? I am thankful for so much! I'm thankful for Jon, my family and the roof I have over my head. I realize I take so much for granted and I can't describe how thankful I am for everything.

5.Are you going to join the black friday crew? Not this year. Jon and I actually got up last year on Thanksgiving day around 7am and then didn't go to sleep until 9am on Black Friday. We went to Austin for Thanksgiving and then that night went and saw New Moon at like 10pm. We didn't get out until super late and had to drop my sister back off at my parents house. Then we made the hour drive back to Fort Hood. By the time we had got back there it was like 2am. We decided to go ahead and hit up some stores. We actually got some really good deals. I don't want to do that again this year. I want to avoid the crowds. Especially in this town, people are so rude and have no common courtesy.

6.If you had to list your favorite holidays, what number would Thanksgiving be? Thanksgiving is definitely my second favorite with the Fourth of July being my first. There's just something about that holiday that I love. It's probably because I love getting together with my friends/family and having a big BBQ on the lake. Plus, it's the day after my birthday :)

Katelyn and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Week.

     Last week was hands down the most awful week of the month year. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. Somehow we kept getting charged for something we paid for at the beginning of the month. Actually, we weren't even charged the correct amount at first so USAA credited our account. Then we finally got charged the right amount but two weeks later. We had paid with our debit card so it should have been taken out right then and there when we swiped and entered the pin number. For some reason it didn't. So since it wasso close to pay day our account was at like nothing (we've been having some financial issues) and when that money was finally taken out it put us into the negative. Since it put us into the negative we got charged an NSF fee of $25 which put us further into the hole. We called USAA and explained the situation so they again were so helpful and took the NSF fee off but we're still negative because of the other charge. So for some odd reason I get the urge to check our account and the charge has just disappeared. I called USAA once again and explained the situation once again. They had no idea where it went. So pay day comes and we have everything planned out for what bills we have to pay. So I got to pay some bills and check out account and guess what has shown up again. You guessed it. That stupid no good charge. Luckily we had just enough for that amount and then some. I wasn't upset that we had to pay it. I was upset that it kept showing up and then disappearing. It was create this snowball effect with our stupid money situation.

     So now comes the cherry on top to my awful week....


     I get a call on Monday afternoon from Jon (who was on leave) frantically asking how much cash I had on me (keep in mind what was going on with our account). I said about $80. He said Jake (refer to this post if you don't know who he is) had hurt his leg and he was at the vet with him. So I grab Caden (the little boy I'm a nanny for) from his nap, put shoes on him and haul butt out the door. I get there and it turns out he has broken his leg. Jon had put the dogs out in the backyard, went to let them in and noticed Jake was hurt. He has no idea how it happened though. So they wanted to do xrays but that was going to cost us $140 and we couldn't afford it. Yes, I know I'm a bad pet owner for not having money set aside for emergencies. They said they felt around on it and the way he had broken it he was going to need surgery to place a pin in his leg. Everything was going to cost us right under a grand. We don't have that kind of money and they wouldn't work with us or set up a payment plan. (Shame on us for not having a savings account) The only thing we could afford was for them to splint it up so he wouldn't injure it further. We called around but no one would help or even think about a payment plan. Luckily, I had a friend who worked for Animal Trustees of Austin who told us to take him there. So the next day Jon called, explained the situation and they said to bring him in immediately. They found out he was military because of where we were coming from and really wanted to help us. They were so appreciative of what he does while at the same time we were appreciative of them for helping us. Jake had his surgery last Wednesday and we haven't had to pay a dime. They set us up on payments plans. Oh, and the best part is they're only charging us half of what the other vet wanted. Animal Trustees of Austin is a non-profit animal welfare organization. They are open only because of donations. These people really care for animals unlike these other money hungry vet offices. We are so thankful for them!


I've noticed that the last couple of my posts have been downers and I promise that they'll get better and more cheerful! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend!


Oh! On a lighter note, I've signed up for an ornament swap!

You can go here to sign up! Go ahead, you know you want to!

One Year Later

One year ago today, 12 Soldiers, 1 veteran, and 1 unborn baby were killed in a tragic event here at Fort Hood. I will never forget how scary it was hearing that someone shot our soldiers here where we're supposed to feel safe. I so naively thought that soldiers don't hurt other soldiers. I thought they all had each others back. I was wrong, very wrong. Wound are still not healing for some. They're waiting for justice to come for Hasan. They've waited patiently and it's time they give him what he deserves.

Just take a moment and remember these people who deserve to be recognized.

Michael Grant Cahill, 65, of Cameron, Texas.

Maj. Libardo Eduardo Caraveo, 52, of Woodbridge, Virginia.

Staff Sgt. Justin M. DeCrow, 32, of Evans, Georgia.

Capt. John Gaffaney, 56, of San Diego, California.

Spc. Frederick Greene, 29, of Mountain City, Tennessee.

Spc. Jason Dean Hunt, 22, of Tipton, Oklahoma.

Sgt. Amy Krueger, 29, of Kiel, Wisconsin.

Pfc. Aaron Thomas Nemelka, 19, of West Jordan, Utah.

Spc. Michael Pearson , 21, of Bolingbrook, Illinois.

Capt. Russell Seager, 51, of Racine, Wisconsin.

Pvt. Francheska Velez, 21, of Chicago. Her unborn child was the 14th victim.

Juanita Warman, 55, of Pittsburgh.

Spc. Kham Xiong, 23, of St. Paul, Minnesota.

(Not my picture)

My heart is with the families who lost loved ones that day.

Friday Fill-In

Well I'm jumping back on the bandwagon and doing Wife of a Sailor's Milspouse Friday Fill-In. Go on and check out her blog!


1. A different twist on last week’s question. This week, the first question is: what’s the nicest thing a MILSPOUSE has ever done for you? (brought to you from navy_smurfette)


The nicest thing a Milspouse has ever done would probably be just simply being my friend. I don't have too many around here and my dear friend Ashley has been amazing to me! She's constantly inviting me to things and making me feel welcomed.

2. How often do you drive faster than the speed limit?

Everyday. I know, I know. Shame on me. It's a really bad habit I have. I usually only go about 5 or 10 over though.

3. Did you have a nickname in school? If so, what was it?

I honestly can't remember if I did or not. You would think that if I did, I would remember it. I'm pretty sure I didn't have one though.

4. If your life was a book, what would the title be and how would it end?

I have absolutely no clue. I'm so not creative when it comes to these things. I do know though, it would end with me married and with children.


5. Look back (in your planner if you have one) to September 14th… what did you do that day?

I don't have a planner but I do know that since it was a Tuesday, I was working. So I was either at the park with Little C (the little boy I watch) or we were watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

And This Is Why I Love Him...

Jon and I had a little argument on my way to work. I had called him to remind him of something and he complained about me waking him up. I told him to go back to sleep and I hung up. I then turned off my phone. I know, I know, real mature of me. I didn't want to talk to him though. So I get to work and I'm upstairs with Cassie (my boss) changing Caden (the little boy I watch) and talking with her. The doorbell rings so I go downstairs and it's Jon. He said he had tried calling me (I turned my phone back on when I got to work) but I had left it downstairs so didn't hear it ring. So he proceeded to drive all the way over here just to apologize! I couldn't believe he had drove the 15 minutes over to my work just to apologize!

This is one of the MANY reasons why I love him :)