Tacky Sweater Party

Our good friends Jen and Brannon hosted a tacky sweater party. I've never been to one but it was hilarious what some people came up with. I really never realized just how many tacky sweaters there are out there. (okay.....I didn't wear one because I was too indecisive)
We also had a white elephant exchange where the gifts ranged from a "Gay-dar" to a Pooping Santa figurine! (Courtesy of Spencer's Gifts)

Let Christmas Begin...

Since we will be in Texas on Christmas, we decided to tell Lydia that Santa's coming on Saturday, which was this morning. We really couldn't pack all her toys and take them with us on the plane..So here we are opening presents at 7 o' clock in the morning. We think she might be onto us though. She asked if Santa came down the chimney, and when we said "yes," she said, "But we don't have a chimney. Is there a hole in the roof? I want to see the hole in the roof that he came through. There's no hole in the roof." She also said, "I only told Santa about the Barbie Car. How did he know everything else I wanted?" Our litte sleuth...Santa brought her a : Hanah Montana Wig, Baby Alive (that pees and poops), Barbie Bike, etc

Sports Fans???

Just wanted to give a shout out to our 2 favorite teams this year, UT Longhorns..Hook em Horns! and Davidson College Wildcats.....go Stephen Curry!

Thanksgiving plus more...

TIME TO UPDATE: Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving...and yes, Christmas is almost here! Here are some pics we took over Thanksgiving. We went up to beautiful Williamsburg, VA and saw Lydia's Great Grandma and Grandma. We even got to stop by and see our town home that we lived while in law school....where we brought Lydia home for the first time.


Our friend Landon had a very nice Thanksgiving bash for all his little friends. Doesn't Lydia make a cute little Indian?


Lydia decorating our Christmas tree..

TWILIGHT MANIA

Yes, It's junior high all over again!! So I saw Twilight on opening night yesterday with a group of 10 other obsessed women! We sat behind a row of 14 yr olds who screamed every time Edward was on screen. I have to admit, at some parts I was screaming along with them =)
Overall, I loved the movie-very entertaining (partly because I have read all the books) and of course it has been graced with the gorgeousness that is ROBERT PATTINSON.
I have to admit, I did not like him at first, but he started to grow on me. Maybe it's the hair...

Overall Critique:
The beginning was a little too rushed and Edwards character seemed awkward. Luckily, the acting skills started to pick up in the middle. The baseball scene was my favorite-with the special effects of the Cullens flying in the air. Their budget was definately not high enough. ( Did they buy Jacob's wig at a dollar store!!???) I'm hoping if they make the other 3 movie sequels, the acting and story line quality will get progressively better. (It has to with all the money its making) I am in love with the Edward and Bella love story and every single one of the books. So I guess, because I love the books so much, it is inevitable that I would love the movie despite some bad acting at times.

My Best actor/actress awards go to : Charlie, Dr. Cullen, Laurent, James, Rosalie

Good luck Twilight, It is projected to make 60 million this weekend!

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE SEEN IT, DID YOU LIKE IT?

- YES
- NO
- SO-SO


We finished off the night with raspberry white chocolate cheese cake at Redrocks. Mmmmm!

I love my Recipes

I've been tagged by Issy! Since I'm kind of a slacker..I only will be posting one recipe tonight. Here is an awesome, light, easy recipe for

"Strawberry Walnut Salad"


1/2 cup light balsamic vinaigrette dressing
2 tbsp crumbled blue cheese
1-5 oz bag of baby greens
1/2 cup walnuts (chunks)
1 pint fresh strawberries
1/4 cup sugar

In a nonstick skillet, combine walnuts and sugar on medium heat, and stir well. Remove when sugar is melted and walnuts are slightly browned. Let cool. Cut strawberries into wedges or slices (use how many as you want). In a large bowl, toss salad with strawberries, blue cheese and dressing. Sprinkle caramalized walnuts on top. Serves 4

I'm tagging 3 people to post as many recipes as you would like

1.Jen Holl
2.Wendy Smith
3.Ruben Arredondo (I know you have some good ones) =)

President Obama!

Ready or not, here he comes. The 44 th President of the United States. He came from a racially mixed- single family home, put himself through college and law school, and went from no name lawyer to President in 13 years. You gotta' give him props!

Update: My brother added an awesome comment that I wanted to share:

"IT IS PRETTY COOL THAT OUR NATION ELECTED IT'S FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN PRESIDENT. JUST THINK, ABOUT 45 YEARS AGO OUR NATION WAS PUTTING BLACKS AT THE BACK OF THE BUS, HANGED, BEATEN BY COPS AND OTHERS BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO BE LIKE THE REST OF AMERICANS. NOW WE HAVE ELCTED A BLACK MAN TO BE OUR PRESIDENT. LAST NIGHT I KEPT THINKING TO MYSELF "ONLY IN AMERICA!"
- Ruben A.

Lydias 4th Birthday!

Happy Birthday Lydia. I can't believe you are four now! We had a fun weekend with all our friends and family. Lydia had her party at Young Chef Academy. Her and 10 of her friends made pizza by hand, even kneaded their own dough! Then finished the meal off with cake and punch. The kids were all pretty wired after all of it. It was so nice to not have to do anything, though. We came in and the party was thrown for us, no set up or clean up! Grandma and Grandpa came in Saturday night to wish her a Happy Birthday.

What mom and dad love about Lydia: Her 100 percent honesty, beautiful smile and dimples, thoughtfulness, her girly girly side, her rough and tough side-- she loves to wrestle with dad, her made up songs she sings in the car, her little words that don't make sense and that are too cute to correct. . ( She calls the elevator "alligator"...."burgers" instead of boogers)

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

Lazy 5 Ranch

I forgot to post these. We had the animals eating right out of our hands!

I cut my hair!!

A F T E R ...




I got sick of my long hair! I told the stylist to do what ever he wanted with it, as long as I didn't look like a "Butch". I like it much better short!

Yvette and Brody

Yeah! Eva and Brody just visited with us for a few days and we had so much fun! We went to Disney on Ice, Discovery Place Children's Museum, where we watched rats play basketball, and of course, you can't go to Charlotte and not visit the Lazy 5 Ranch! We also cooked, baked, and ate out... of course. It would not be an Arredondo Reunion without the food! Luckily Josh was there to finish off most of the desserts. Here are some pictures of what we made http://bradandyvette.blogspot.com



We were able to get some awesome pics at Disney on Ice. Lydia was pretty enthralled most the time. I had to bribe her with popcorn so she could leave her seat and go to the bathroom. Brody actually was into a lot of it.... and danced and clapped with Lydia! (1st picture: Notice Brody pulling Lydia's hair..we caught in the act! =)