Christmas Day

Once school was done its was that time for Christmas! This months was going to be one of the most expensive months for both of us.

It was hard to hide gifts form us in the apartment so we made a plan to buy our gifts and go wrap them at Ricardo’s house.

We made a list for each other to see what each of us wanted for Christmas. It was weird for me because I was never used to secret santa or making a list for myself for what I wanted.

Ricardo’s list was simple and so I went on a mission to get him his list and some stuff that I thought he would like.

Christmas day was very weird, It was the first time I didn’t go home and I went to Ricardo’s moms house for a Christmas party.

I was quiet and felt out of place. I didn’t feel like I could say much or do much, and waiting to open the presents was boring.

I like the family setting but it was probably one of the bad Christmases I have had because it was my first time with a boyfriends family.

I got many presents, and so did Ricardo, but we both realized that we spent way to much on crap. We went overboard for others instead of ourselves.

The one thing I hated about this party was that no one was happy with the presents they got…and so I realized it was not a so family oriented.

So when Ricardo and I got home we fought. He said I was to quiet and had a bad attitude, and I told him that it was a mess that no one is great full.

Then I said forget it Im going to my parents house next year!..

Its December!!!

December would be one of the most important months of the year for both Ricardo and I. It was Christmas time, and our birthdays.

As school was coming to an end we had more time for each other and planning what we would do for our birthdays and our first Christmas living together.

For my birthday, which landed on a Tuesday, Ricardo wanted to do something random for me since I was finally turning 21.

So after work he decided to get all the gear and head up to Tahoe, a place I always hear about but never have been.

I wanted me to go to the snow, gamble, and have a memorable experience. So we drove and stayed in a hotel near the casinos. I had fun even though it was a Tuesdays and the next day I had a stupid marketing final, I was happy.

He tried so hard to make my birthday special and it was. The next day was even better. after everything he did for me, he wanted to take Christmas pictures with me. So this was our first real pictures that we would have framed on our wall in our room.

I was happy, knowing that Ricardo has his ups and downs but always manages to make me happy and try his best.

So after the pictures he took me to a nice dinner. We always go out but this time he took me to the Macaroni Grill. I loved it and I felt so happy that I could order a beverage and then would ask to see my ID.

Then Ricardo told the waiter it was my birthday, so I got a nice little cake. It was a two day birthday event for me that I will never forget. I had my special night even if I didn’t get drunk at Vegas like everyone else.

Christmas in November

After the madness was over we woke up the next morning wanting breakfast, well my parents the early birds.

 

So Ricardo has the idea to have breakfast at his moms house so we got everything ready. My parents were ok with the idea but my parents aren’t really talkative with Ricardo’s mom, well maybe with the exception of my dad.

 

Before we all got ready Ricardo said that he was going to go to the store and get some stuff for the breakfast. I decided to stay with my parents at the apartment and spend some more time with them.

 

When Ricardo came back he came with two bags, which for me was kind of strange. He told my brother he had a surprise for him, but I didn’t expect Ricardo to ever give my parents or even my brother something for christmas in November.

 

I decided to give my brother a new PS Vita. My brother was so happy that he jumped for joy and hugged Ricardo with so much love. I was so happy to see my brother like that. No one that I had ever dated did something for my brother.

 

So after the gifts we headed for breakfast. It was a nice family get together and everyone was talking so I felt happy.

 

Then my parents check the time and decided it was time to hit the road. My parents said by and the next time we would see them we would go to San Diego, Ricardo and I.

 

Now that November was ending, the true holidays began….

 

After black friday

well after my mom talked and talked she finally went to the room. I thought to my self…Ricardo don’t take to long please.

Well just about 15min later Ricardo came back. I was pretending to fall asleep but he knew I was faking and came over to the couch.

He said that he was sorry that he left for a few minutes but that he just wanted to say thanks to him mom and family. I totally understood and he said if he could seep on my couch.

I felt like when he first moved in and we would sleep on a twin bed and almost always were squished.

Ricardo was on one side of the couch and I was on the other. So finally I could go to sleep, the only bad thing is that I noticed that I had only an hour left of sleep.

I was pretty tired, I was so mad at myself when I noticed that I had to go to work when I could have said no and just gone somewhere shopping with my parents.

Once I went to work it was hell, people were going crazy and I was so surprised how people were running to get the so called “sales” of black Friday.

As I was nearing to the end of my day on black friday, I know I would not see Ricardo until night. I got home at 4pm and I was so exhausted but my brother wanted to play monopoly.

I agreed to play, even though my mom told me to take a nap. I was getting tired so my brother agreed to watch a movie with me, so I passed out.

Then I heard bby I am home….

Go to sleep honey…

Well the dinner was a mess but at least we all helped to clean up and wash the dishes. Now it was time for our first night to prepare  us for black Friday.

Well I don’t know what I was thinking but I volunteered to work at my old job on Thanksgiving night at 11pm to 6am in the morning. Then from that job I would work at my other job from 6:30am to 11am. Then finally ending my horrible retail life from 11:30am to 4:30pm.

What a horrible mess, one that I will never ever choose to make again. So I tried to go to sleep after dinner but I couldn’t. The worst part was that Ricardo wanted to go to his moms friends house with or without me.

Now that was just a red flag for my mom and boy did I hear about that one. In my family or so far what I have seen from the people around me is that if the man goes out with out his significant other he cheats.

well as much as that statement is probably true for most women I had no problem with Ricardo. I think the only thing that made me mad was that I couldn’t go with him because I know I would not be able to work at 11pm.

So he got a nice shirt on and headed for the door. It looked so bad and I knew my mom was going to wait till he left to ask me all sorts of questions. As soon as he was headed for the door I stopped him.

My mom was like the hawk looking from a hight tree waiting to attack its pray, well thats how it felt. I told Ricardo by the door in a whisper “come back soon please, don’t be late”

The only reason I said that is because me and Ricardo have an attachment.. with that I mean if he is not next to me when I want to go to sleep at night, sleep is just not gonna happen. The same goes with Ricardo, so I had to wait but the longer I waited the worse it got.

So my mom said where is he going? why did he leave? its late?……

Lets sit at the table…

We had just come back form the movies and it was time to eat. Of course my dad couldn’t wait for us so he got his plate started.

In my family we have gotten used to the idea that sometimes we don’t always eat together or we eat by the t.v.

My dad has to always watch the t.v. when he eats and so he stayed in the room and ate. While my mom was getting our little table ready for Ricardo, my brother, and myself to eat with my mom.

I was kind of frustrated with my mom and Ricardo, because I feel like they act like such children sometimes.

In my point of view my mom just wants to find something bad about Ricardo, and Ricardo just want to compete and show my mom how awesome he really is.

Well it gets me mad. So we are at the table eating, and it’s like my brother and I are the only ones focused on the food.

Ricardo didn’t even want turkey and that pissed me off because he could of at least tried it. That really upset me because I always eat what I am given at his house or at least try it and say thank you.

On the other hand my mom wants to prove her theory right that Ricardo drinks and that he is an alcoholic. well they are both out of their minds.

My turkey never tasted so plain because I was too busy making sure neither of them would ruin Thanksgiving dinner for the rest of my life.

So i kicked my brothers leg and wanted him to start a conversation with me to distract the mess Ricardo and my mom were creating. I think the worst unpleasant night was about to go down..

Lets get the oven started..

After Ricardo got home after work and my parents had some coffee, my mom and I started to prepair the turkey.

My mom and I have a method to do things even when we bump heads, all the time. So before we layed everything out and started to cut the ingredients we made sure we had everything.

My mother, my brother, and I decided to walk to safeway because it’s only two minutes away.It was crazy, so we got a cart and everyone went to grab what we needed.

After we were done with the last minute shopping we headed home and got things ready. Although Ricardo hates turkey and didn’t know if he could eat, he managed to help.

Ricardo is a way better cook than I am, but i noticed that day that my mom and Ricardo are a bit on the competative side, especially in cooking.

They were each chopping veggies here and there. It was weird to see that Ricardo unlike my dad helped out. My dad can’t cook, I think thats where I get it from.

After we were done stuffing the turkey and everything was done we had to think of what to do. My parents mostly my dad are very laid back. My mom for some reason didn’t want to go out so Ricardo and I had to think of something to do with my brother.

Nothing was really open on Thanksgiving day, except for the movies, so we went to Redwood City.

I guess I was more tired than I though so we watched one movie Wreck It Ralph which I loved, but the second movie Rise of The Guardians we snuck into I fell asleep.

It was now almost six o’clock and I got my mom’s phone call saying the food was ready….

My parents are finally here..

After my parents had settled down in my apartment I sent them to my room to got to sleep. Two hours later Ricardo had to get up change in the living room and go to work.

I always help him in the morning to get ready and make sure he doesn’t forget his green apron. As he was getting ready I told him sorry for my parents loudness, but he told me that he must have been dead asleep, that was great.

My parents are early birds, like myself so we all got up at 7am. My little brother Gerald is so attached to me so as soon as we woke up he came to get me up. soon after my mom came to my couch and said if I was hungry.

I wan’t sure if Ricardo wanted us to go to Starbucks to get our coffee, but I convinced my brother and mom to walk with me.  My brother has such a love for Ricardo and so he was excited to go and see him at work.

When we go to Starbucks it was really busy even through it was Thanksgiving day. Ricardo got really nervous but said hello to my mom and brother. After we got our coffee’s and pastries we walked back home.

Ricardo got off at work around 9am and came back with lost of stuff or “goodies” for my parents like cups and coffee bags. I guess in a way he was trying to show off and be nice at the same time.

So we started our morning to our Thanksgiving day with my parents. 

 

Its Turkey time..

Well all things to be thankful for and yet Ricardo and I were in a horrible mess. My parents were to arrive the day before thanksgiving and we were both all over the place.

To come to where I live from San Diego it takes about 7hours but for my parents it might take 8-9 hours. I had enough time to not panic and get my apartment ready.

I had asked for the day off just to make sure everything was neat and tidy. On the other hand Ricardo had to work and was very nervous to come home from work and see my parents.

The clock was ticking so I got ready to clean the house and make sure I made the bed for them to sleep. I was expecting them to be at my apartment around 9pm just before Ricardo finished at work at 9:30pm.

Well just as I had imagined Ricardo came home and my parents were no where to be found. I kept calling to make sure everything was ok, but they were just running late.

Ricardo had to work at 4am the next day at Starbucks and so we decided to sleep on separate couches and take a nap. Then I hear my phone ring and I wake up in an instant.

It is now 2am and my parents finally decide to show up with all the noise. I felt mad, upset, and at the same time happy that they had arrived. The reason that I was most upset was that Ricardo was trying to sleep to go to work and my parents were being loud. At that moment I felt like a wife…

 

My parents are coming over..

After all the crazy moments and fighting, it was holiday season time. Who knew that part of our relationship would be one of the most challenging.

Beginning of November at this point, and all I could think about is what am I going to do for Thanksgiving.

For myself Thanksgiving is a regular holiday that my family celebrates and we all make turkey and eat all day. On the other hand for Ricardo it was totally different.

For Ricardo, his family didn’t like turkey or make it on Thanksgiving. I had the crazy idea to have my parents come  from San Diego for four days.

Ricardo to be honest was very nervous and didn’t know what to expect of the four days. So I started to plan what we would do, where we would go and how we were going to spend time as a family.

At the same time we both had to deal with the  awful schedule of the famous BLACK FRIDAY!

After we had discussed our hell we we both thought it would be very hard to have his family and mine “eat together.” I was working from 11pm thursday to 4pm friday, and Ricardo was working all day on friday.

As the date was approaching, we both got nervous to think what my parents would do while we were at work.

I think the biggest question on both of our minds was where do we sleep, what will they think of us, and how awkward it would be in the morning.