California Christmas and Babies Galore

It had been a long time since I had been to Los Angeles, though I'm glad I at least got to see California in April.  But since I didn't get to spend Christmas with my family last year, I needed to see them this year.

Truth be told, this whole holiday season just crept up on me.  For the first time in a long time, I wasn't prepared with presents for all my friends and co-workers, and it was just really hard to get into the holiday spirit in general.

Regardless, it was awesome to be home.

Except that everyone is constantly asking me when I plan to move back.  It makes me sad to not have an answer, because I really want to have one that will satisfy them all.  But for now I'm on the East, and I'll still be bicoastal.

Christmas Deliciousness

My mom decorating the little tree with ginormous ornaments

We spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day up in the Bay Area with my sister, since she had to work that weekend.  My brother was in the Philippines with his girlfriend, so it still felt like an incomplete Christmas. 

But we did have our two doggies with us, since they're both a hassle to dog sit.  They're also a hassle to have in a car.

Charlie trying to be a lap dog.

Other than spending time with my family, one big draw for going home is to have some home-cooked Filipino food.  My mom cooked pancit, lumpia, and mechado over the weekend.  I was an extremely happy camper.

serious food coma for like 24 hours...

On Christmas Day, I visited a childhood friend and her 2 adorable babies.  It was great to see them, and to interact with her younger child who I had only seen as an infant.  It was amazing to see them both talking away and interacting with me like they've known me all this time.  Truth be told, these 2 kids would be a huge reason for me to move back.  I've always hated the idea that one of my best friend's kids wouldn't know me.  So it was comforting to know that they were so comfortable around me from the get-go.

Oh, she also fed me some delicious Columbian food.  I ate my way through Christmas.  It was fantastic.

Disneyland and California Adventure
How could I go to California and NOT visit a Disney park?  Seriously.

Occupy Disneyland

It was great to hang out with friends I haven't seen in too long a time as well as meet some new awesome people.

Unfortunately, it was CRAZY BUSY!!! I mean, it was packed.  I should have known better, I suppose, to have chosen a day between Christmas and New Years.  But, we still managed to hit up all the awesome rides, including Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, and the Hollywood Tower of Terror.

BEST RIDE EVER
so simple...yet the laughing and screaming are so fun!

And I got to feast on some delicious Mickey Mouse Pancake action.

I'm pretty sure it's more delicious because it's so happy.

It was definitely a highlight to finally ride the new Little Mermaid ride, though I'm personally of the belief that the ride could have been an awesome water ride.

*squee!*

 Then!!! I got to meet Ariel!!

She asked me about my outfit (which was clearly
all Little Mermaid-ed out). We chatted a bit about fashion,
as two mermaids would.

Gotta love that Princess pose...

How funny is it that the two celebrities I geek out about are redheads?  Those Gingers are awesome, what can I say?

It was such a great day, even if my poor legs were exhausted and tense for the next 2 days.  Good times all around.

Babies!
So, I had already talked about one of my best friend's babies and how awesome they are.  But I also got to meet two other friends' little ones for the first time.  One of them was about 2 months old, and the second one was about 14 months.

It was funny to me that this trip to California was like a baby tour.  But I'm so very proud of my friends who are raising mini-humans.  All their babies are beautiful, and I'm excited to see what their personalities will be like as they grow up and experience life.

*****

Leaving California is always hard.  Leaving the warmth and the love from my friends and family there is hard.  But I guess I'm just not ready to leave the adventure of the cold cold of New England.  Nor am I ready to say goodbye to my friends and adoptive family here.

Til next time, California.

Simple Pleasures Sundays - Traditions

As the boyfriend and I drive up to Maine with a blizzard on our tail, I am looking forward to closing my first Christmas away from my family with his family.

In being on the East Coast on my own, I've had to really create my own little family and traditions here so that I wouldn't be so lonely.

While I have some summer traditions like the August party in Vermont and checking out free events, I haven't really had too many winter traditions.  I enjoy spending time with my family for the holidays, expecially for the massive amounts of food and guaranteed good times.

Well, I'd have to say that it's been a wonderful Christmas of building new traditions.

With my best friend visiting from New York City, she really helped me to feel the cheery spirit of the holidays.  She captured it perfectly when she said that she got to see family and then felt ready for the holidays.

Presents!

Then I got to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my Boston Family.  There was Polish and Indian food cooked at home, and different types of cakes.  There was lots of laughter, lots of stories, and new faces.

Being the youngest of the group, I had the job of handing out presents.  When my family hands out the presents a little after midnight, we usually hand out all the presents and then everyone opens it all up at once.  It's like a really fun free-for-all.  But I had to learn a little bit of patience, since everyone got to open up their presents one at a time.  It was neat seeing what everyone got.

I also got to participate in a Yankee Swap/White Elephant, which I had always watched my older relatives participate in.  It was exciting to be included in the appropriate age group this year.

On the night of Christmas, I got to participate in some "Jewish Christmas" action in one of Boston's many Chinatown restaurants.

I'm still trying to figure out what traditions I would want for my own, but it was neat to participate in others traditions this holiday.  It gives me a bigger basket to choose from later on.

In the Next 2 Weeks

Sometimes, I lose sight of the awesomeness that surrounds me, and I'm reminded that the people are really a huge part of why I'm still on the East Coast.  My friends here are a true testament of the awesomeness of humans.

I feel like my holidays are now completely full of awesome.  And it started with a good friend who gave the boyfriend and I are short strand of Christmas lights.

Truth be told, I teared up a little bit in the backseat of his car when I saw what he gave us.  I had been really sad about not being able to really decorate since the kitties would probably just attack anything I put up, but I also didn't want to have to spend too much money just to decorate.  But this helped to get me energized for the Holidays.

While I couldn't justify buying a tree, I thought that my Bamboozle would be a great alternative.

Oh Bamboozle

With that, I'm feeling more ready for the holiday.

I realized that I couldn't just isolate myself and fall further into depression, so I reached out to my dear friends and now I feel like my remaining 2010 is full.

December 22nd - 23rd - My best friend is coming up from NYC!
December 24th - 25th - Cooking, baking, feasting with my lovely fellow BUSSW friends!
December 26th- 29th - Feasting, snowman building/snow angel making, sauna-ing in Maine with the boyfriend and his family.
December 30th - Prepare for New Years.
December 31st - January 1st - Ring in 2011!

There are 2 full weeks left in 2010.  And now I have a plan to spend it hugging, eating, and laughing.

I Won't Be Home for Christmas

This past weekend, I realized that this Christmas was going to be extremely different from previous years because this would be the first year that I would spend it away from my family.

Since the boyfriend hadn't seen his dad and stepmom since September 2009, I thought that he should definitely spend it with them.  I also wanted to try spending Christmas on the East Coast, and hope for a white Christmas.

Unfortunately, his family dynamics are quite different from mine, and I knew that he wouldn't really reach out to them unless I was coming with him.  So, I had been pushing for him to find out what the plans were for Christmas.  It was taking him a while to get in touch with his dad, and he suddenly admitted that he was just worried that there would be family drama.

At that point, I really realized how different this year is going to be.  While I'm sure it will be an enjoyable and happy holiday, it is definitely going to be different from what I'm used to.

I'm used to tons of (Filipino) food, tons of people, tons of gifts, gift opening at December 24th/12 midnight/December 25th (not the morning of the 25th), loud conversation, and lots of laughs.

Christmas 2009

Last year, the boyfriend got to spend Christmas with my family, when the previous year he had to spend it by himself (due to some family drama).  I figure I need to spend Christmas with his family as well.

With some things coming up for me in terms of my family, I've talked about how I've felt like separating myself a bit.  But, I'm also nervous about my expectations getting in the way of my enjoyment.

I do miss my family, and I'm sad that I'm not going to be with them this year.

But on the other hand, I feel like this is part of growing up.  If I were married, we would have to negotiate the holidays, especially considering that I couldn't expect my partner to be family-less or to not spend time with his family.

I have tons of friends who are already spending holidays away from their families.  This is just the first time I'm doing so.  And really, it's up to me to make it something of my own with my own little family on the East Coast.