Thanksgiving 2013

Like I said in earlier posts, we weren't able to make the road trip we had been hoping for this week due to flight schedules and guard shifts at work - but, you won't hear me complain. My small sacrifice was well worth the chance for other families to be whole on this holiday.

We had a "Misfit" Thanksgiving - and I'm beginning to understand how military friends can quickly become family. I always saw it - my Dad is still in touch with Navy friends - and was anticipating it, but I'm thankful it's happening for us now. We've been in Tennessee for about 3 months now, and I was beginning to fret that we had NO friends. L has a few buddies he's working with day in and day out, but with my work schedule, I hadn't had a chance to get real involved anywhere here to make friends. Working from home also inhibits friend making, and we haven't had time to find a church we really like.

But, we met up with another couple to see "The Hunger Games" last week and decided to do Thanksgiving together, and we had a blast. I think we have our first two friends!

My family always made sausage balls to snack on during brunch/lunch until we were ready for dinner (around 4 PM.) So, I made some to contribute to the meal. The same recipe my family uses can be found here. But it's so easy!

• Mix together 1 lb mild sausage (or spicy if you're brave!), 1 1/4 c. Bisquick, 2 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 block of cream cheese. (I tried to use my mixer, but found it was easier just to get those hands dirty and mix it the old-fashioned way)
• Roll them into 1 in. balls and line on a cookie sheet - bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes - or until golden brown

In the past, we've made them with soy-sage (for my vegetarian cousin), and added jalapenos for variety. There are many ways to mix it up, and they're always an easy treat! They're great warm, they're great cold, and they keep for days.

So today, we went out to get our Christmas tree. $30 at Home Depot and $12 for a tree stand - not too shabby! We bought our lights there as well, but on Wednesday, so they were $5 a pop, and we got 3. (We also had a major disagreement about what kind - he was raised on white lights, I was raised on color. We settled on white, but what do you prefer?) I've had lots of my ornaments for several years, and many are too feminine for my husband's taste, but we'll phase out some of the older, homemade ones, and start to collect some of our own. 

Here's a glance at the set up (as seen on my Instagram):

Hope everyone is staying safe and enjoying a lazy day!

XO - Catherine