Merry Russian Christmas!

Yes, our holidays keep on going! Yesterday was a Russian Christmas eve. My mom made a delicious traditional dinner with mane dish being crapes with all kinds of sweet and salty stuffings! It was yet another lovely warm dinner with family and friends, my mom is amazing at gathering people around her table!

Christmas morning

Every Christmas morning Jenya and I come to mom and dad's house to open presents all together. This year was no different. I sipped on mom's great coffee, as we one by one ran to the tree to grab a present and open it. This is one of my favorite parts of the whole year! It is cozy and warm, and so much fun!
I got everything I could hope for and more - my hubby got me a hard drive to back up the thousands of photos I have and a new car remote, my brother gave me a gift certificate to a miniature store and an easel, my parents gave me that polaroid camera I have put on my wish list, a pink bike (that I drove before, but now it's mine), an adapter to transfer photos from my camera to my ipad - all are such thoughtful and amazing gifts! Now I can take instant photos, blog on the go using photos from my camera, sleep well knowing that three years of photos are going to be safe, and start learning to draw! Thank you everyone! I am so blessed!
After we opened our presents my dad made us waffles with his new waffle maker and we stuffed ourselves with all kinds of good food. After, we watched Home Alone and spent more quality family time together! I love Christmas so much and am so happy that we are able to gather with the family to celebrate!

The candle light service

Silent night! Holy night!
All is calm all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and child
Holy infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace!
Sleep in heavenly peace!

Silent night! Holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Hallelujah
Christ the Saviour is born!
Christ the Saviour is born!

Silent night! Holy night!
Son of God love's pure light
Radiant beams from thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord at thy birth,
Jesus, Lord at thy birth.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas traditions

We have a tradition that kinda took place on its own: I make a dinner for Christmas eve, after we eat and have some fun we go to our church's candle light service, where we sing Christmas carols and join the sea of candle lights - thousands of people (it is absolutely beautiful!), then in the morning we put our pajamas on, grab all of our presents and go to my mom's and dad's where they are waiting (in pjs too) to open presents and have Christmas brunch. It is so much fun and we love out traditions!
My own little tradition is I listen to the christian carols all day long while cooking and getting ready for the dinner.
So today was full of cooking (I used some of my favorite cook books, some of the dishes included chicken pot pie, beef roast, various salads, corn biscuits, baked apples and ice cream for desert), cuddling with my husband, fun with my family, wrapping the presents (a little late this year), and to top it all off - beautiful carol singing and thousands of candle lights all to glorify the birth of our Hope, our Light, our only Chance, our Teacher, our Baby Boy!

And now I a off to sleep, tomorrow morning is one of my favorite days this whole year!

Done!

It has been a while since I made something for myself. I have a dream to some day acquire a collection of decorations for each season, because I love the four seasons and well... we don't really experience them here in Vegas as much as I wish we would. 

My collection will have a cross stitch piece in every season (probably more than one...), and Christmas being my favorite holiday, of course started this collection. I have mentioned this project of mine before - a nativity seen from my grandma's old magazine. Then my mommy and I stopped by one of my favorite stores and I saw this picture frame and thought it would fit the project perfectly! So here it is!

Enjoy YOUR winter!

Today was the last day of my third semester in Dental Hygiene program. It was a bit of hell, but it. is. done! Done, I tell ya! So what to do now?.. Well here is my list:
Read favorite book (The Hobbit at the moment)
Practice drawing
Finish some projects
Go Christmas shopping
Clean up the house
Eat hot chicken noodle soup
Drink hot chocolate
Bake
Cook
Go somewhere wintry
     -Make a snowman
     -Go sledding 
Take more photos
Get an upper back massage
Sleep in (!)
Hang out with my friends
Drink tea and chat with my mommy
Cuddle with hubby in the mornings
Listen to favorite music all day long
Admire our Christmas tree

Can it be true? Yes, MY winter begins! My lovely, cold, snowy winter begins! Today!

Now onto winter...

I finished my clinical requirements and now can breathe a little easier. Still no time, no strength, and very little inspiration, but I am slowly recuperating. So tonight we clean bit by bit and begin Christmas decorating...
I prefer to keep majority of my Christmas decorations to be related to the birth of our Savior, but I do opt out for a couple of wintery things... I am not fond of Santa Clause though, don't know why...

 And since it is cold now, all of my cute pjs need to be worn with some extra layers... very comfy!

 These two are made by me, they have cinnamon inside of them and it is suppose to be me and Jenya. :)

 We don't decorate much outside, but we do put a wreath on the door and lights on our orange tree.

There is much more to do, hopefully we will gradually get out of the mess, and have a clean and pretty home for the Christmas.

Getting sick...

I think I'm getting sick...
The school is killing me, the stress is taking tall on my body, and now my throat is sore.
So tonight, I drink lots of tea with honey from my parents' in law beehives, watching Dear John (for the first time!), drawing a little (I think I like pencil a whole lot...), and starting one of my Christmas projects - it is from my grandma's old magazine, a nativity fragment that I am going to frame and put up for Christmas!

I just keep telling myself that I have two weeks left and then I will get to be myself for a month...

This song is on my mind today...

In my head...

In my house...

I don't think I mentioned that we got flooded by our upstairs neighbors almost three weeks ago and now our wall in the living room has to be replaces so we don't get any mold. Let's just say that my house is an absolute mess! Reminds me of when we just moved in...

In my bed...

Books lay untouched, I just can't find strength anymore... just two and a half more weeks and I am free for a month!

In my ears

I found my new favorite radio station... It inspires my heart to beat slowly and steadily, my mind to dream strongly and vividly...

In my head...

I found this Russian page on the Russian version of Facebook  and they have many interesting craft projects, but they don't credit their sources, so I am putting them here, but if anyone knows the original source I would be happy to include it here.