New Year, New Look

Happy New Years Eve!

I am trying to change things up around here at La Vida Dulce. I am also seriously thinking about joining June on her exodus to Typepad. But I am still researching stuff. It seems like the people on Typepad can do a lot more with their blogs....but anyway. I will be adding back the side bar widgets eventually as I couldn't get them to move when I put this new template up.

Last night we went to a beautiful wedding. My friend T. got married and it was awesome to be in the church we were married in, sitting next to our friends who participated and came to our wedding. Not to mention watching a dear friend marry someone whom she has waited along time to find. It was a really fun and beautiful wedding!

Tonight The Mister and I are going to be together to ring in The New Year. The kids are going to Grannies and we are going to catch an early dinner and a movie. We have a New Years Eve tradition to ring in the New Year all warm and snuggly under the heating blanket (Cookie) and snoring very loudly. I am sure we will not be breaking tradition this year. That is what happens when you hit middle age, your knees start aching, you complain about loud music, and the only time you are up at mid-night on New Years Eve is if you have to get out of bed to pee.

On New Years Day we are going over to my Mom and Dad's for Albondigas.

Albondigas is a wonderfully delicious meatball soup. And my Dad's recipe is THE BEST. This is a great improvement over the traditional hispanic soup eaten on NEw Years. I will never forget the years I lived at home when my Dad would wake up very early on January 1st to start cooking the Menudo.

If you have never had the privilege to experience Menudo cooking all day in your home, I will explain it for you: it smells so awful while it's cooking that as a kid I used to shut myself in my room, stuff a towel at the base of the door (to keep the odor from getting through the crack), and light a candle (which was forbidden because my Dad was always afraid we would burn the house down). The broth and the hominy always tasted good, but I just couldn't ever eat the tripe (see definition #3 if you are uncertain what this is) .

Albondigas is much better, and more aromatically pleasing, in my humble opinion.

What are you doing for New Years Eve? Whatever it is I pray that your New Year is terrific!