No Place Like Home.

There’s no place like home. You can say it and mean it after a long day of work, shopping, or after a vacation. But it’s extra special during Christmas. Since coming to Canada, my parents and I quickly started celebrating not just our Orthodox Ukrainian Christmas on January 7th, but everything from mid-December onwards! It’s easy to get in the festive mood when everywhere you look, there are bells jingling, lights flashing, people smiling and … giving. This year is no different – Christmas started a bit early for me and kind of hit me over the head – with the coldest weekend in North America, yikes! I combined our early Chistmas with Zeina & Zak‘s wedding (which is coming soon), and check out how barricaded we were! I was sneaky enough to ask some dear friends to visit me at my parents’ Edmonton home instead of coffee or dinner dates

And here are are the snugglers and the cuddlers of the house – these tender creatures are Masya (the lighter one with a baby face, named after a comical Russian cartoon character Masyanya) and Liska (she has seven toes, purrs like a tractor, and can be worn as an accessory around your neck). Back in Vancouver, Mick and I were blessed to get an invitation for Christmas dinner from our new friends Zdenka & Ardin – we met them at the Vancouver Wedding Fair back in October and instantly clicked (I can’t wait to be their Victoria wedding photographer next July!) I must admit, I was so happy Ardin was the turkey master!  Despite being a vegetarian, I cook meat for others all the time… but stuffing a turkey? I didn’t sign up for that!
First Christmas morning in Vancouver… I slept in as always! And got a little surprise of a Christmas tree and a singing puppy, whom I rapidly named Rudolph. I didn’t ask much of Santa this time around. Just to bring me beautiful weddings with life-loving brides and grooms for 2010. Yeah!!