37!

I turned 37 on Wednesday and it was one of the best birthdays I've ever had.

I really felt like celebrating this particular birthday and making a fuss about the whole thing. After all it's not every year that you get to celebrate your last birthday before motherhood. A few I suppose wouldn't even know that it was their last birthday before motherhood.

As soon as I turned up for work on Wednesday, an announcement on the PA system by the Duty Manager who was my dear Swedish friend Marie pretty much blew my cover. She said something like "make sure you greet Vange today not because she is pregnant but because it is her birthday!" That was mildly embarrassing but nice all the same. I bought morning tea to bring to work the day before and surprised everyone with profiteroles, cupcakes and lamingtons. This went down really well, I was quite popular that day.

Leading up to the day, I started receiving cards on the mail which is always wonderful. Nothing beats getting hand written mail. It is extra special because you know that someone had made an effort to choose a card that best expressed what they felt, wrote on it, put a stamp, found a post office/box and mailed it. Of course, just being remembered and greeted on Facebook or email or SMS is nice too but a hand written card is just special and lovely.

I also received a gift voucher for Westfields which is this fancy Eftpos/credit card looking thing that you can use at any Westfields shop that accepts eftpos which is pretty much every shop. This, from friends back home in Manila. It was very thoughtful of them who are so far away and yet made such an effort. A friend gave me a lovely leather/fabric combo black and white check shopping bag which would be a good baby bag actually. Quite versatile as it holds so much and can also be used for work folders, notebooks etc.

My dear hubby bought me charms to put on a Tiffany bracelet he bought me last year - a letter "G" for his name (a bit narcissist perhaps?), an Eiffel tower (to remember our Paris trip) and a little bub for what's about to come. They all fit on to bracelet nicely, an even more beautiful accessory with all the memories it brings.

Dear hubby also took me out for dinner. As the theme was to make this birthday extra special, I chose the top 3 restaurants I'd like to go to and made him surprise me by making the final choice and booking; a fantastic choice by the way - Guillaume at Bennelong at the Opera House (one of the best dining experiences & highly recommended). It wasn't really a great big surprise I suppose but being me, always knowing what I want and therefore try & minimize any risk of disappointment, I always influence the final outcome the best I can.

So, all in all, it was a fantastic birthday, something to remember for indeed a long time :)

With love,

Vange

PS: not sure how to format with photos yet so it's a bit all over the place!