One year.

So today marks my soon to be husband/fiancé's one year anniversary since we officially started dating. Even more exciting is the fact that we are getting hitched in nine days at a local courthouse surrounded by family and close friends. Although not how I would have ideally planned starting my marriage, I must say there is a good explanation. Yes love is a part of it, but it's a bit more complicated than that. Don't worry no babies on the way.

First you'll need a little background. Seeing as America has become the melting pot of the world I guess it makes sense that he (of Chinese descent) and I (of Hispanic descent) came together. We met through mutual friends, who were moving out of state and throwing a farewell party last June. Of course race/culture was never a factor for either of us, and in all reality I felt nothing was a factor, as I thought I was done with dating and how overwhelming it can be. In my mind I was going out for free dinner and drinks as this would probably just be another failed attempt at finding that special someone. Boy was I wrong. Anyways back to the background... We are both first generation-Americans, and believe me cultural standards/norms still run strong amongst the expectations put on us by our families. Growing up we were faced with conflicting norms both outside the home and those at home. Complicated by, others who did not understand my culture at home, and why I wasn't allowed to go to the school dance, meet friends at the mall, or have a boyfriend.

So going back to the whole marriage thing, ideally we would have gotten engaged and married in about year from now. BUT my family does not believe in living together with your significant other before being married, and since my fiance and I would rather move in together sooner than later, well you get the point. Somehow the order we do everything seems to be backwards, since we first bought a house together a few months back (no we haven't moved in yet until the marriage). Then we got engaged and are soon getting married in nine days. Yikes! With that said, I must confess that we are planning a full-on ceremony/reception wedding in about a year. Complicated? Just a little.

Funny story of the day: My parents helped us move some bigger items into our new home yesterday afternoon. Probably not something most would worry about, but as I walk in carrying some items from my car, I hear the garage refrigerator door open. Instantly my fiance and I look at each other wide-eyed, knowing exactly what the other was thinking. THE LIQUOR! Although we are not heavy drinkers, we do like to keep our fridge stocked. There's one little detail my parents are lacking in all of this.... the fact that we drink! Yes you heard me, they have no clue we drink! Being non-drinkers themselves, they're not the biggest fans of alcohol and drinking. So we were terrified! Later I was questioned by my mom about it, quickly thinking of an excuse, I explained it was leftovers from our engagement a couple weeks back. Phew!