Flowers in December

These are blooming outside my window just for Christmas!

Brewer family

That is how we all look like right now.

My New Toy

Isn't it lovely? Really happy polka-dots will surely bring some smiles on my future pictures. I really got upset with my previous camera - half of the shutter just stopped moving, resulting in half-pictures. Of course, I could flip the camera upside down and still shoot, but it got on my nerves when I tried to take our family photo on timer, and upside-down camera would just not comply. That was the end of it. Now I am in the happy polka-dotted camera world. I even tried it out yesterday in Magic Kingdom. Love it!

Unbelievable? Believe it!

Yes, I sang today in the Christmas program Silent Night in Russian in front of the ward. It is the first one for me. Never in my life I thought I'd do such a crazy thing. I really thought that my voice is not made for other ears to hear. I am being a realist. But, the song came out, I guess.
I noticed that about any public speech, lesson or singing (in this case) when you practice, it seems like you can't get it quite right or there are all these worries in your head. But at the pulpit (stage, podium - pick one) - it just all comes together and the invisible helpers are there to pull you up to your highest degree of performance. Thanks to Heavenly Father for it all. Let's develop our talents He has given us!

Blast this shoe!!!

Misha sent me rolling on the floor in laughter yesterday. He was struggling with his shoe, tried several ways of putting it on. Then, frustrated and upset, threw the shoe on the floor with anger and screamed: 'BLAST THIS SHOE!!!'

I guess it came from watching too much of 101 dalmatians (Cruella De Vil says: Blast this pen, blast this wretched, wretched pen!)

8 Things Tag

8 Things tag
I got tagged by Cammy Aller :) !!

Lets see what I can come up with...

8 TV shows I watch:
1. Gossip Girl
2. Privileged
3. America's Next Top Model
4. Stylista
5. Heroes
6. Reaper (when it's on)
7. 24
8. PBS (OK, the kids watch it, not me)

8 Things that happened yesterday:
1. I gave Valentina her new butterfly hoodie to wear to school
2. I put the Christmas pictures in the collage frame and hung it on the wall
3. Finally hung the hooks in the kids room for their coats
4. Talked to Amy on the phone
5. Read the internet blogs about the bees and pollen
6. Helped Valentina with her homework
7. Watched Who's There?/brought the stuff back to the library/went to Wal-Mart
8. Gave Misha a bath

8 Favorite places to eat:
1. Chinese with sushi
2. Cheesecake Factory
3. Golden Corral
4. at home
5. Olive Garden
6. Red Lobster
7. my mom's cooking
8. any Disney restaurant

8 Things to look forward to:
1. Christmas presents
2. Tax return
3. Shopping sales
4. Going to school and getting a degree
5. Being a two-car family (not one)
6. Being out of Debt
7. Try to get my parents to come visit
8. House

This is the first time I got tagged. Yay!!!
I tag Kellie Sangster and Meredith Tittsworth (Have Fun)

Being crafty

I just had a crafty night. So, I sewed these pillows and 4 more other ones for the friends for Thanksgiving.
Very easy - made of felt, foam, ribbon, and ribbon flower embellishment.

Bees

This lovely bee was crafted by an artisan from Belarus. Isn't it cute? I am so grateful for bees, for all the hard work they do. Can you think of a more hard-working and useful insect? I can't. I know that in most part without them there wouldn't be any food for us (they are the main pollinators in the world), the honey would not exist (watch out Winnie-the-Pooh!), the health benefits of the pollen and other bee products are still being discovered. And just think of the enormous possibilities that beeswax opens - candles, lotions, soaps, lip balms, crafts to name a few!

Thank you, little hard workers!

Bitter-sweet art of cutting-up books

Check out the following link. It is incredible...


http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/09/bittersweet-art-of-cutting-up-books.html

Baltic Amber

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber_Room

Please check out the link above. It tells the story of the Amber Room, the treasure hunt idea of my childhood...

When I was a child, I went to visit my grandma, who lived by the Baltic Sea (it also happens to be the location of the world's largest amber deposit). Imagine kids often going to the beach picking up sea-shells. Well, for me they weren't shells, they were pieces of sunshine stone - amber. Talking about happy childhood...

There is also the incredible Amber Museum in Kaliningrad (former Konigsberg).

http://www.ambermuseum.ru/museum/history

The location is incredible, as well as the building - ancient fort, which holds the most wonderful collection of amber art, jewelry, antiquity and masterpieces. The place is a true treasure find.

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There was also a memory connected with another stone - Belemnoidea (devil's finger). Ha, another B word. I did not realize it was the fossil of an ancient squid. Talking about learning something new every day...

Belarus

Of course, I am going to start with the place I come from. And of course, it begins with B. Belarus is a beautiful country with rich history and wonderful people. The facts about it can be easily found online, but here is a list of my favorite things from Belarus (absolutely random):

lilacs
lilleys-of-the-valley
wild mushrooms
long summer days
sparkling snow
birch trees
long walks in the woods
dandelions
mom's cooking
dad's stories
the longing feeling
transparent maple trees in fall
the magic of old
castles, forts, ruins
linen towels
dacha
banya
long talks at the kitchen table
friends, friends, friends