Christmas Vacation

So post-graduation - queue winter break, all of my friends (and roommies) dispersed!  But who could blame them?  Being the Normanite I am, I did.... a little.  It got a little lonely at the apartment, so naturally I migrated to Mom & Bill's and stayed with them for a few days.  We had our little Christmas celebration a few days early since my Mom had to work on Christmas Day this year.  Mom and I made a small, but delicious, dinner for 3, which of course included 3 bottles of wine.  Afterwards, we drunkenly opened gifts.  Surprisingly, Mom loved the camera that Bill got her - I told him it would be a great gift (Side note: my mother is extremely difficult to buy gifts for - one day she's telling you she loves something and then the next day, she's exchanging it. You also cannot spend too much money on her because she thinks she's "unworthy" or something, even though she spends plenty of money on herself).  Mom and Bill also loved (or pretended to love) the picture frame I got them with my graduation picture inside.  And on Christmas Eve, I drove down to my brother Jason's house in Dallas.

I've been to several holidays at Jason and Jean's house, but I don't remember those holidays very well.  Regardless, this one seemed particularly different.  This year, my Faja and Bobo Bear's Christmas invitation got lost in the mail... probably because we all openly hate Bobo Bear.  And instead, my brothers' mom (mi Faja's ex wife) was invited.  Her name is Judy.  And from stories my dad has told me (and the pictures I've peeked at over the years), I expected an older, hippie version of Natalie Wood.  This was not the case at all.  There's not really a nice way of putting this, but compared to my dad's other wives (he's currently on wifey #3, btw), she is masculine and low-maintenance.  And apparently, she HATES my faja.  Now I had heard their divorce had gone pretty smoothly back in the day: They had been highschool sweethearts who married young, had children, and then grew up, which happens to a lot of people.  However, from my brothers' standpoint, their divorce had not gone so smoothly.  Regardless, many years after the fact, this butch-like woman HATES my dad... fair enough.  With all that being said, Judy was actually nice to me, pretty quiet, and highly sarcastic - all of which are qualities I enjoy.  The one time my dad was brought up in conversation, the first thing Judy said was "You're father's a LIAR!"  Eeek!  But Judy only stayed a few days, and so the peace was kept.

My brother Corey also came, but he didn't stay very long.  Jason made him a photo album for Christmas, and it was really cool to see young pictures of my brothers I had never seen.  (Side note: my brother Jason is super artistic and crafty. I'm totes jelly I didn't get those genes... but it's probably because he's my brotha from anotha motha.)  My niece Julia made out like a BANDIT! She's 11, and for Christmas, she got: an iPhone 4, an iPad, a Wii, 10 Wii games, decorations for her room (including: an awesome Eiffel Tower lamp my bro made, a full-length mirror Judy bedazzled, and some framed Paris photos), clothes, 2 new coats, boots, a sewing machine, a cupcake maker, and a perfume maker.  Shit, this kid got more for Christmas than I've gotten the last 5 years combined, plus I don't even know what some of the stuff she got is!  Julia is definitely spoiled.  I cannot say I won't spoil my future spawns, but I hope to teach them some responsibility and appreciation along the way, too.  

What did I get for Christmas?  Well, turns out, I didn't do too bad either.  From Mom and Bill, I got: a very nice jewelry box, some perfume, cute pjs, and a couple sweat shirts.  My brother Corey got me money, and Jason and Jean got me a pretty necklace from Macy's and a fuzzy bathrobe, which I've been needing for years!  

All in all, it was a great Christmas, and I was grateful I got to spend time with a lot of my family members.  I ended up staying with Jason and Jean for a week, and I don't know when I'll get the chance to do that again.  I also got to meet up with my roommie A. Roy and one of my best friends, Jackie.  I bought a skirt suit at Express on sale for under $100!  I am so excited about that.  I really wanted to find a pant suit, but the one I bought is basic black, so I could always find some black pants to pair with it.  I'll definitely be getting a lot of wear out of it at my upcoming gradschool interviews (cross your fingers for me that I get accepted!).  

My next great venture will be finding a J.O.B.  I'll let you know how that goes...